GERMAN    ROMANCE. 


GERMAN    ROMANCE 

SPECIMENS 


OF 


ITS    CHIEF    AUTHORS; 


WITH 


BIOGRAPHICAL   AND   CRITICAL 


NOTICES. 


BY    THOMAS     CARLYLE. 


IN      TWO      VOLUMES 


VOLUME 


BOSTON: 
JAMES    MUNROE    AND     COMPANY 

M  DCCC  XLI. 


CAMBRIDGE    PRESS ! 
MFTCALF,    TORRY,    AND    BALLOU. 


0>L 


PREFACE. 


It  were  unhappy  for  me  if  the  reader  should  ex- 
pect in  this  Work  any  full  view  of  so  complex  a 
subject  as  German  Novelwriting,  or  of  so  motley  a 
body  as  the  German  Novelwriters.  The  dead  wall 
which  divides  us  from  this  as  from  all  other  prov- 
inces of  German  Literature,  I  must  not  dream  that 
I  have  anywhere  overturned ;  at  the  most,  I  may 
have  perforated  it  with  a  few  loopholes,  of  narrow 
aperture  truly,  and  scanty  range  ;  through  which, 
however,  a  studious  eye  may  perhaps  discern  some 
limited,  but,  as  I  hope,  genuine  and  distinctive  fea- 
tures of  the  singular  country,  which,  on  the  other 
side,  has  long  flourished  in  such  abundant  variety  of 
intellectual  scenery  and  product,  and  been  unknown 
to  us,  though  at  our  very  hand.  For  this  wall,  what 
is  the  worst  property  in  such  walls,  is  to  most  of  us 
an  invisible  one  ;  and  our  eye  rests  contentedly  on 
Vacancy,  or  distorted    Fatarnorganas,  where  a  great 


VI  PREFACE. 

and  true-minded   people  have   been  living  and  labor- 
ing, in  the  light  of  Science  and  Art,  for  many  ages. 

In  such  an  undertaking  as  the  present,  fragmentary 
in  its  very  nature,  it  is  not.  absolute,  but  only  relative 
completeness,  that  can  be  looked  for.  German  Novel- 
writers  are  easily  come  at  ;  but  the  German  Novel- 
writers  are  a  class  of  persons  whom  no  prudent  edi- 
tor will  hope  to  exhibit,  and  no  reader  will  engage 
to  examine,  even  in  the  briefest  mode  of  specimen. 
To  say  nothing  of  what  has  been  accumulated  in 
past  generations,  the  number  of  Novelists  at  present 
alive  and  active  is  to  be  reckoned  not  in  units,  but 
in  thousands.  No  Leipzig  Fair  is  unattended  by  its 
mob  of  gentlemen  that  write  with  ease  ;  each  duly 
offering  his  new  novel,  among  the  other  fancy-goods 
and  fustians  of  that  great  emporium.  Lafontaine, 
for  example,  has  already  passed  his  hundredth  vol- 
ume. The  inspirations  of  the  Artist  are  rare  and 
transient,  but  the  hunger  of  the  Manufacturer  is  uni- 
versal and  incessant.  The  novel,  too,  is  among  the 
simplest  forms  of  composition  ;  a  free  arena  for  all 
sorts  and  degrees  of  talent  ;  and  may  be  worked  in 
equally  by  a  Henry  Fielding  and  a  Doctor  Polydore. 
In  Germany,  accordingly,  as  in  other  countries,  the 
Novelists  are  a  mixed,  innumerable,  and  most  pro- 
ductive race.     Interspersed   with  a  few  Poets,  we  be- 


PREFACE.  Vll 

hold  whole  legions  and  hosts  of  Poetasters,  in  all 
stages  of  worthlessness  ;  here  languishing  in  the 
transports  of  Sentimentality,  there  dancing  the  St. 
Vitus's  dance  of  hard-studied  Wit  and  Humor ;  some 
soaring  on  bold  pinion  into  the  thundery  regions  of 
Atala  ou  les  Amours  de  deux  Sauvages ;  some 
diving,  on  as  bold  fin,  into  the  gory  profundities  of 
Frankenstein  and  The  Vampyre ;  and  very  many 
travelling,  contented  in  spirit,  the  ancient,  beaten 
highway  of  Commonplace. 

To  discover  the  grain  of  truth  among  this  mass  of 
falsehood,  especially  where  Time  had  not  yet  exer- 
cised its  separating  influence,  was  no  plain  problem  ; 
nor  can  I  flatter  myself  either  that  I  have  exhausted 
the  search,  or  in  no  case  been  deceived  in  my  selec- 
tion. The  strength  of  German  Literature  does  not 
lie  in  its  Novelwriters ;  few  of  its  greatest  minds 
have  put  forth  their  full  power  in  this  department  ; 
many  of  them,  of  course,  have  not  attempted  it  at 
all.  In  the  seventeenth  century,  and  prior,  there 
was  nothing  whatever  to  be  gleaned  ;  though  Anton 
Ulrich,  Duke  of  Brunswick  Wolfenbuttel,  had  laid 
aside  his  sceptre,  to   write   a  novel,*  in  six  thousand 

*Die  Durchlauchtigste  Syrerin  Aramena  (Her  Most  Serene  Majes- 
ty, Aramena  of  Syria),  1669.     On  the   whole,  it  is  simple  enough 


Vlll  PREFACE. 


eight  hundred  and  twenty-two  pages.  Klopstock, 
Herder,  Lessing,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  wrote  no 
novels  ;  the  same  might  almost  be  said  of  Schiller  ; 
for  his  fragment  of  the  Geisterseher  (Ghost-seer),  and 
his  Magazine-story  of  the  Verbrecher  aus  Verlorener 
Ehre  (Criminal  from  Loss  of  Honor),  youthful  at- 
tempts, and  both  I  believe  already  in  English,  scarce- 
ly form  an  exception.  The  elder  Jacobi's  Woldemar 
and  Allwill  I  was  forced,  not  without  consciousness 
of  their  merits,  to  pass  over  as  too  abstruse  and  di- 
dactic ;  for  a  like  reason  of  didacticness,  though  in  a 
far  different  sense,  Wieland  could  afford  me  nothing 
which  seemed  worthy  of  himself  and  our  present 
idea  of  him  ;  and  Klinger's  Faust,  the  product  evi- 
dently of  a  rugged,  vehement,  substantial  mind, 
seemed  much  too  harsh,  infernal,  and  unpoetical  for 
English  readers.  Of  Novalis  and  his  wondrous  frag- 
ments, 1  could  not  hope  that  their  depth  and  wizard 
beauty  would  be  seen  across  their  mysticism.     Other 


of  our  Magazines  to  inform  us,  that  the  literature,  nay  sometimes 
it  is  also  the  language,  of  Germany,  began  to  be  cultivated  in  the 
time  of  Frederick  II.  If  the  names  of  Hutten,  Opitz,  Lohenstein, 
&c,  &c,  are  naturally  unknown  to  us,  we  ought  really  to  have 
heard  of  Luther.  Nay,  was  not  Jacob  Bbhme  rendered  into  huge 
folios,  with  incomparable  diagrams,  in  the  time  of  James  I.  ?  And 
is  not  Hans  Sachs  known  (by  name  at  least)  to  all  barbers  ? 


PREFACE.  IX 

meritorious  names  I  may  have  omitted,  from  igno- 
rance. Maler  Muller's  I  was  obliged  to  omit,  be- 
cause none  of  his  fictions  were,  properly  speaking, 
novels ;  and  unwillingly  obliged,  for  his  plays  and 
idyls  bespeak  a  true  artist  ;  and  the  English  reader 
would  do  well,  by  the  earliest  opportunity,  to  substi- 
tute the  warm  and  vigorous  Adam's  Awakening  of 
Muller,  for  Gessner's  rather  faint  and  washy  Death 
of  Abel,  in  forming  a  judgment  of  the  German 
Idyl, 

A  graver  objection  than  that  of  omissions  is,  that, 
in  my  selections,  I  have  not  always  fixed  upon  the 
best  performance  of  my  author ;  and  to  this  I  have 
unhappily  no  contradiction  to  give,  nor  any  answer  to 
make,  except  that  it  lay  not  in  the  nature  of  my  task 
to  avoid  it ;  and  that  often  not  the  excellence  of  a 
work,  but  the  humble  considerations  of  its  size,  its 
subject,  and  its  being  untranslated,  had  to  determine 
my  choice.  In  justice  to  our  strangers,  the  reader 
will  be  pleased  to  bear  this  fact  in  mind.  With  re- 
gard to  two  of  them,  to  Fouque  and  Richter,  it  is 
especially  necessary. 

By  a  secondary  arrangement,  in  surveying  what 
seemed  the  chief  names  among  the  German  Novel- 
writers,  we  have  also  obtained  a  view  of  the  chief 
modes   of    German  Novelwriting.       The    Mahrchen 


X  PREFACE. 

(Popular  Tale),  a  favorite,  almost  tritical  topic 
among  the  Germans,  is  here  twice  handled  ;  in 
what  may  be  called  the  prosaic  manner  (by  Mu- 
saus),  and  in  the  poetical  (by  Tieck).  Of  the 
Ritterroman  (Chivalry  Romance)  there  is  also  a 
specimen  (by  Fouque) ;  a  short  one,  yet  I  fear,  in 
many  judgments,  too  long.  Hoffmann's  Golden  Pot 
belongs  to  a  strange  sort  (the  Fantasy-piece),  of 
which  he  himself  was  the  originator,  and  which  its 
sedulous  cultivation,  by  minds  more  willing  than 
able,  bids  fair,  in  no  great  length  of  time,  to  explode. 
Richter's  two  works  correspond  to  our  common  En- 
glish notion  of  the  Novel  ;  and  Goethe's  is  a  Kun- 
stroman  (Art-novel),  a  species  highly  prized  by  the 
Germans,  and  of  which  Wilhelm  Meistefs  Appren- 
ticeship, the  first  in  date,  is  also  in  their  mind  greatly 
the  first  in  excellence. 

If  the  reader  will  impress  himself  with  a  clear 
view  of  these  six  kinds,  and  then  conceive  some 
hundreds  of  persons  incessantly  occupied  in  imita- 
ting, compounding,  separating,  distorting,  exaggera- 
ting, diluting  them,  he  may  have  formed  as  correct 
an  idea  of  the  actual  state  of  German  Novelwriting, 
as  it  seemed  easy  with  such  means  to  afford  him. 
On  the  general  merits  and  characteristics  of  these 
works,  it  is  for  the  reader  and    not  me   to  pass  judg- 


PREFACE.  XI 

ment.  One  thing  it  will  behove  him  not  to  lose 
sight  of.  They  are  German  Novelists,  not  English 
ones ;  and  their  Germanhood  I  have  all  along  regard- 
ed as  a  quality,  not  as  a  fault.  To  expect,  there- 
fore, that  the  style  of  them  shall  accord  in  all  points 
with  our  English  taste  were  to  expect  that  it  should 
be  a  false  and  hollow  style.  Every  nation  has  its 
own  form  of  character  and  life  ;  and  the  mind,  which 
gathers  no  nourishment  from  the  everyday  circum- 
stances of  its  existence,  will  in  general  be  but  scanti- 
ly nourished.  Of  writers  that  hover  on  the  confines 
of  faultless  vacuity,  that  write  not  by  vision  but  by 
hearsay,  and  so  belong  to  all  nations,  or,  more  prop- 
erly speaking,  to  none,  there  is  no  want  in  Germany 
more  than  in  any  other  country.  It  would  be  easy 
to  fill,  not  four,  but  four  hundred  volumes  with  Ger- 
man Novelists  of  this  unblamable  description  ;  there- 
by to  refresh  the  reader  with  long  processions  of 
spotless  romances,  bright  and  stately,  like  so  many 
frontispieces  in  La  Belle  Assemblee,  with  cheeks  of 
the  fairest  carnation,  lips  of  the  gentlest  curvature, 
and  most  perfect  Grecian  noses,  and  no  shade  of  char- 
acter or  meaning  to  mar  their  pure  idealness.  But  so 
long  as  our  Minerva  Press  and  its  many  branch- 
establishments  do  their  duty,  to  import  ware  of  that 
sort  into  these  Islands  seems  unnecessary. 


Xll  PREFACE. 

On  the  whole,  as  the  light  of  a  very  small  taper 
may  be  useful  in  total  darkness,  I  have  sometimes 
hoped  that  this  little  enterprise  might  assist,  in  its 
degree,  to  forward  an  acquaintance  with  the  Ger- 
mans and  their  literature  ;  a  literature  and  a  people 
both  well  worthy  of  our  study.  Translations,  in  this 
point  of  view,  can  be  of  little  avail,  except  in  so  far 
as  they  excite  us  to  a  much  more  general  study  of 
the  language.  The  difficulties  of  German  are  little 
more  than  a  bugbear  ;  they  can  only  be  compared  to 
those  of  Greek  by  persons  claiming  praise  or  pudding 
for  having  mastered  them.  Three  months  of  mode- 
rate diligence  will  carry  any  man,  almost  without  as- 
sistance of  a  master,  over  its  prime  obstacles  ;  and 
the  rest  is  play  rather  than  labor. 

To  judge  from  the  signs  of  the  times,  this  general 
diffusion  of  German  among  us  seems  a  consumma- 
tion not  far  distant.  As  an  individual,  I  cannot  but 
anticipate  from  it  some  little  evil  and  much  good  ; 
and  look  forward  with  pleasure  to  the  time  when  a 
people,  who  have  listened  with  the  most  friendly 
placidity  to  criticisms*  of  the  slenderest  nature  from 


*  Voltaire's  patronizing  letter  to  Rainier,  in  which  he  conde- 
scends to  grant  the  Germans  some  privileges  of  literary  citizen- 
ship, on  the  strength  of  "  Monsieur   Gottched  "    (Gottsched,  long 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

us,  may  be  more  fitly  judged  of;  and  thirty  millions 
of  men,  speaking  in  the  same  old  Saxon  tongue,  and 
thinking  in  the  same  old  Saxon  spirit  with  ourselves, 
may  be  admitted  to  the  rights  of  brotherhood  which 
they  have  long  deserved,  and  which  it  is  we  chiefly 
that  suffer  by  withholding. 

ago  acknowledged  as  the  true  German  Antichrist  of  Wit),  is  still 
held  in  remembrance  ;  so  likewise  is  the  Pere  Bouhours'  extremely 
satirical  inquiry,  Si  les  Mlemands  peuvent  avoir  de  V esprit? 


VOL.    I. 


NOTE   BY  THE   AMERICAN    PUBLISHERS. 


The  English  edition  of  the  present  work,  pub- 
lished in  1827,  is  comprised  in  four  volumes  —  the 
last  volume  containing  Wilhelm  Meister's  Travels, 
by  Goethe.  A  revised  translation  of  this  novel,  to- 
gether with  The  Apprenticeship,  of  which  it  consti- 
tutes the  sequel,  having  been  recently  issued  in 
London,  and  reprinted  in  Philadelphia,  in  a  separate 
form,  it  has  been  thought  best  to  omit  it  in  the  pres- 
ent publication.  The  contents  of  the  other  three 
volumes,  here  embraced  in  two,  are  retained  entire, 
without  omission  or  change. 

Boston,  April  15,  1841. 


CONTENTS. 


JOHANN  AUGUST    MUSAUS. 

Biographical  Notice 1 

popular  tales. 

I.  Dumb  Love           ........  14 

II.  Libussa            .........  87 

III.  Melechsala 140 

FRIEDRICH  DE  LA  MOTTE  FOUdUE. 

Biographical  Notice .  215 

Aslauga's  Knight 228 

LUDWIG    TIECK. 

Biographical  Notice 271 

popular  tales. 

I.  The  Fair-Haired  Eckbert 285 

II.  The  Trusty  Eckart.     Part  First            .         .         .         .306 
The  Trusty  Eckart.     Part  Second     ....  328 

III.  The  Runenberg 340 

IV.  The  Elves 366 

V.  The  Goblet 390 


JOHANN  AUGUST  MUSAUS 


VOL.  I. 


GERMAN  ROMANCE. 


JOHANN  AUGUST  MUSAUS. 

Johann  August  Musaus  was  born  in  the  year  1735,  at 
Jena,  where  his  father  then  held  the  office  of  Judge.  The 
quick  talents,  and  kind,  lively  temper  of  the  boy,  recom- 
mended him  to  the  affection  of  his  uncle,  Herr  Weissenborn, 
Superintendent  at  Allstadt,  who  took  him  to  his  house,  and 
treated  him  in  all  respects  like  a  son.  Johann  was  then  in 
his  ninth  year.  A  few  months  afterwards,  his  uncle  was 
promoted  to  the  post  of  General  Superintendent  at  Eis- 
enach ;  a  change  which  did  not  alter  the  domestic  condition 
of  the  nephew,  though  it  replaced  him  in  the  neighborhood 
of  his  parents  ;  for  his  father  had  also  been  transferred  to 
Eisenach,  in  the  capacity  of  Councillor  and  Police  Magis- 
trate. With  this  hospitable  relative  he  continued  till  his 
nineteenth  year. 

Old  Weissenborn  had  no  children  of  his  own,  and  he 
determined  that  his  foster-child  should  have  a  liberal  edu- 
cation. In  due  time  he  placed  him  at  the  University  of 
Jena,  as  a  student  of  theology.  It  is  not  likely  that  the 
inclinations  of  the  youth  himself  had  been  particularly  con- 
sulted in  this  arrangement ;  nevertheless  he  appears  to  have 
studied  with   sufficient  diligence  ;  for  in  the  usual  period  of 


4  MUSAEUS. 

three  years  and  a  half,  he  obtained  his  degree  of  Master, 
and,  what  was  then  a  proof  of  more  than  ordinary  merit,  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  German  Society.  With  these 
titles,  and  the  groundwork  of  a  solid  culture,  he  returned 
to  Eisenach,  to  wait  for  an  appointment  in  the  church,  of 
which  he  was  now  licentiate. 

For  several  years,  though  he  preached  with  ability,  and 
not  without  approval,  no  appointment  presented  itself;  and 
when  at  last  a  country  living  in  the  neighborhood  of  Eis- 
enach was  offered  him,  the  people  stoutly  resisted  the  ad- 
mission of  their  new  pastor,  on  the  ground,  says  his  biog- 
rapher, that  "  he  had  once  been  seen  dancing."  It  may  be, 
however,  that  the  sentence  of  the  peasants  was  not  alto- 
gether so  infirm  as  this  its  alleged  very  narrow  basis  would 
betoken.  Judging  from  external  circumstances,  it  by  no 
means  appears  that  devotion  was  at  any  time  the  chief  dis- 
tinction of  the  new  candidate ;  and  to  a  simple  rustic  flock, 
his  shining  talents,  unsupported  by  zeal,  would  be  empty 
and  unprofitable,  as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal. 
At  all  events,  this  hindrance  closed  his  theological  career. 
It  came  in  good  season  to  withdraw  him  from  a  calling,  in 
which,  whether  willingly  or  unwillingly  adopted,  his  history 
must  have  been  dishonest  and  contemptible,  and  his  gifts 
could  never  have  availed  him. 

Musaus  had  now  lost  his  profession  ;  but  his  resources 
were  not  limited  to  one  department  of  activity,  and  he  was 
still  young  enough  to  choose  another.  His  temper  was 
gay  and  kindly  ;  his  faculties  of  mind  were  brilliant,  and 
had  now  been  improved  by  years  of  steady  industry.  His 
residence  at  Eisenach  had  not  been  spent  in  scrutinizing 
the  phases  of  church  preferment,  or  dancing  attendance 
on  patrons  and  dignitaries ;  he  had  stored  his  mind  with 
useful  and  ornamental  knowledge ;  and  from  his  remote 
watch-tower,  his   keen   eye   had   discerned  the  movements 


MUSAEUS.  O 

of  the  world,  and  firm  judgments  of  its  wisdom  and  its  folly 
were  gathering  form  in  his  thoughts.  In  his  twenty-fifth 
year  he  became  an  author  ;  a  satirist,  and,  what  is  rarer,  a 
just  one.  Germany,  by  the  report  of  its  enemies  and  luke- 
warm friends,  is  seldom  long  without  some  Idol  ;  some 
author  of  superhuman  endowments,  some  system  that  prom- 
ises to  renovate  the  earth,  some  science  destined  to  con- 
duct, by  a  north-west  passage,  to  universal  knowledge.  At 
this  period,  the  Brazen  Image  of  the  day  was  our  English 
Richardson  ;  his  novels  had  been  translated  into  German 
with  unbounded  acceptance;*  and  Grandison  was  figuring 
in  many  weak  heads  as  the  sole  model  of  a  true  Christian 
gentleman.  Musaus  published  his  German  Grandison  in 
1760  ;  a  work  of  good  omen  as  a  first  attempt,  and  received 
with  greater  favor  than  the  popularity  of  its  victim  seemed 
to  promise.  It  cooperated  with  Time  in  removing  this 
spiritual  epidemic  ;  and  appears  to  have  survived  its  object, 
for  it  was  reprinted  in  1781. 

The  success  of  his  anonymous  parody,  however  gratifying 
to  the  youthful  author,  did  not  tempt  him  to  disclose  his 
name,  and  still  less  to  think  of  literature  as  a  profession. 
With  his  cool,  skeptical  temper,  he  was  little  liable  to  over- 
estimate his  talents,  or  the  prizes  set  up  for  them  ;  and  he 
longed  much  less  for  a  literary  existence  than  for  a  civic 
one.  In  1763,  his  wish,  to  a  certain  extent,  was  granted  ; 
he  became  Tutor  of  the  Pages  in  the  court  of  Weimar ; 
which  office,  after  seven  punctual  and  laborious  years,  he 
exchanged  for  a  professorship  in  the  Gymnasium  or  public 
school  of  the  same  town.  He  had  now  married  ;  and  amid 
the  cares  and  pleasures  of  providing  for  a  family,  and  keep- 
ing house  like  an   honest  burgher,  the  dreams  of  fame  had 

*  See  the  Letters  of  Aleta,  Klopstock's  lady,  in  Richardson's  Life 
and  Correspondence. 

1* 


O  MUSAEUS. 

faded  still  farther  from  his  mind.  The  emoluments  of  his 
post  were  small  ;  but  his  heart  was  light,  and  his  mind 
humble.  To  increase  his  income  he  gave  private  lessons  in 
history  and  the  like,  "  to  young  ladies  and  gentlemen  of 
quality  ;  "  and  for  several  years  took  charge  of  a  few 
boarders.  The  names  of  Wieland  and  Goethe  had  now 
risen  on  the  world,  while  his  own  was  still  under  the  hori- 
zon ;  but  this  obscurity,  enjoying  as  he  did  the  kind  esteem 
of  all  his  many  personal  acquaintances,  he  felt  to  be  a 
very  light  evil ;  and  participated  without  envy  in  whatever 
entertainment  or  instruction  his  famed  contemporaries  could 
afford  him.  With  literature  he  still  occupied  his  leisure  ;  he 
had  read  and  reflected  much  ;  but  for  any  public  display 
of  his  acquirements  he  was  making  no  preparation,  and 
feeling  no  anxiety. 

After  an  interval  of  nineteen  years,  the  appearance  of 
a  new  idol  again  called  forth  his  iconoclastic  faculty.  La- 
vater  had  left  his  parsonage  among  the  Alps,  and  set  out  on 
a  cruise  over  Europe,  in  search  of  proselytes  and  striking 
physiognomies.  His  theories,  supported  by  his  personal 
influence,  and  the  honest,  rude  ardor  of  his  character,  be- 
came the  rage  in  Germany  ;  and  men,  women,  and  children 
were  immersed  in  promoting  philanthropy,  and  studying  the 
human  mind.  Whereupon  Musaus  grasped  his  satirical 
hammer;  and  with  lusty  strokes  defaced  and  unshrined  the 
false  divinity.  His  Physiognomical  Travels,  which  ap- 
peared in  1779,  is  still  ranked  by  the  German  critics  among 
the  happiest  productions  of  its  kind  in  their  literature ;  and 
still  read  for  its  wit  and  acuteness,  and  genial,  overflowing 
humor,  though  the  object  it  attacked  has  long  ago  become  a 
reminiscence.  At  the  time  of  its  publication,  when  every- 
thing conspired  to  give  its  qualities  their  full  effect,  the  ap- 
plause it  gained  was  instant  and  general.  The  author  had, 
as  in  the  former  case,  concealed  his  name ;  but  the  public 


MUSAEUS.  I 

curiosity  soon  penetrated  the  secret,  which  he  had  now  no 
interest  in  keeping ;  and  Musaus  was  forthwith  enrolled 
among  the  lights  of  his  day  and  generation  ;  and  courteous 
readers  crowded  to  him  from  far  and  near,  to  see  his  face, 
and  pay  him  the  tribute  of  their  admiration.  This  unlook- 
ed-for celebrity  he  valued  at  its  just  price  ;  continuing  to 
live  as  if  it  were  not ;  gratified  chiefly  in  his  character  of 
father,  at  having  found  an  honest  mean  of  improving  his 
domestic  circumstances,  and  enlarging  the  comforts  of  his 
family.  The  ground  was  now  broken,  and  he  was  not  long 
in  digging  deeper. 

The  popular  traditions  of  Germany,  so  numerous  and 
often  so  impressive,  had  attracted  his  attention  ;  and  their 
rugged  Gothic  vigor,  saddened  into  sternness  or  venerable 
grace  by  the  flight  of  ages,  became  dearer  to  his  taste,  as 
he  looked  abroad  upon  the  mawkish  deluge  of  Sentiment- 
ality, with  which  The  Sorrows  of  Werter  had  been  the  in- 
nocent signal  for  a  legion  of  imitators  to  drown  the  land. 
The  spirit  of  German  imagination  seemed  but  ill  represent- 
ed by  these  tearful  persons,  who,  if  their  hearts  were  full, 
minded  little  though  their  heads  were  empty  ;  their  spasmo- 
dic tenderness  made  no  imposing  figure  beside  the  gloomy 
strength  which  might  still  in  fragments  be  discerned  in  their 
distant  predecessors.  Of  what  has  been'  preserved  from 
age  to  age  by  living  memory  alone,  the  chance  is  that  it  pos- 
sesses some  intrinsic  merit ;  its  very  existence  declares  it  to 
be  adapted  to  some  form  of  our  common  nature,  and  there- 
fore calculated  more  or  less  to  interest  all  its  forms.  It 
struck  Musaus  that  these  rude  traditionary  fragments  might  be 
worked  anew  into  shape  and  polish,  and  transferred  from 
the  hearths  of  the  common  people  to  the  parlors  of  the 
intellectual  and  refined.  He  determined  on  forming  a  series 
of  Volksmahrchen,  or  Popular  Traditionary  Tales  ;  a  task 
of  more  originality  and  smaller  promise   in   those  days  than 


8  MUSAEUS. 

it  would  be  now.  In  the  collection  of  materials,  he  spared 
no  pains  ;  and  despised  no  source  of  intelligence,  however 
mean.  He  would  call  children  from  the  street;  become  a 
child  along  with  them,  listen  to  their  nursery  tales,  and 
reward  his  tiny  narrators  with  a  dreyer  apiece.  Sometimes 
he  assembled  a  knot  of  old  women,  with  their  spinning- 
wheels,  about  him  ;  and,  amid  the  hum  of  their  industrious 
implements,  gathered  stories  of  the  ancient  time  from  the 
lips  of  the  garrulous  sisterhood.  Once  his  wife  had  been 
out  paying  visits;  on  opening  the  parlor  door  at  her  return, 
she  was  met  by  a  villanous  cloud  of  tobacco-smoke  ;  and 
venturing  forward  through  the  haze,  she  found  her  husband 
seated  by  the  stove,  in  company  with  an  old  soldier,  who 
was  smoking  vehemently  on  his  black  slump  of  a  pipe, 
and  charming  his  landlord,  between  whiffs,  with  legendary 
lore. 

The  Volksmiihrclien,  in  five  little  volumes,  appeared  in 
1782.  They  soon  rose  into  favor  with  a  large  class  of  read- 
ers ;  and  while  many  generations  of  novels  have  since  that 
time  been  ushered  into  being,  and  conducted  out  of  it,  they 
still  survive,  increasing  in  popularity  rather  than  declining. 
This  preeminence  is  owing  less  to  the  ancient  materials  than 
to  the  author's  way  of  treating  them.  The  primitive  tradi- 
tion often  serves  him  only  as  a  vehicle  for  interesting  de- 
scription, shrewd,  sarcastic  speculation,  and  gay,  fanciful 
pleasantry,  extending  its  allusions  over  all  things  past  and 
present,  now  rising  into  comic  humor,  now  sinking  into 
drollery,  often  tasteless,  strained,  or  tawdry,  but  never  dull. 
The  traces  of  poetry  and  earnest  imagination,  here  and 
there  discernible  in  the  original  fiction,  he  treats  with  levity, 
and  kind,  skeptical  derision  ;  nothing  is  required  of  the  read 
er  but  what  all  readers  are  prepared  to  give.  Since  the 
publication  of  this  work,  the  subject  of  popular  tradition  has 
been  handled  to  triteness  ;  Volksmahrchen  have  been  written 


MUSAEUS.  y 

and  collected  without  stint  or  limit;  and  critics,  in  admit- 
ting that  Musaus  was  the  first  to  open  this  mine  of  entertain- 
ment, have  lamented  the  incongruity  between  his  subject 
and  his  style.  But  the  faculty  of  laughing  has  been  given 
to  all  men,  and  the  feeling  of  imaginative  beauty  has  been 
given  only  to  a  few  ;  the  lovers  of  primeval  poetry,  in  its 
unadulterated  state,  may  censure  Musaus,  but  they  join 
with  the  public  at  large  in  reading  him. 

This  book  of  Volksmahrchen  established  the  character  of 
its  author  for  wit  and  general  talent,  and  forms  the  chief 
support  of  his  reputation  with  posterity.  A  few  years  after, 
he  again  appeared  before  the  public  with  a  humorous  per- 
formance, entitled,  Friend  Heirfs  Apparitions,  in  the  style 
of  Holberg,  printed  in  1785.  Friend  Hein  is  a  name  under 
which  Musaus,  for  what  reason  his  commentator  Wieland 
seems  unable  to  inform  us,  usually  personifies  Death  ;  the 
essay  itself,  which  I  have  never  seen,  may  be  less  irrever- 
ent and  offensive  to  pious  feeling  than  its  title  indicates,  and 
it  is  said  to  abound  with  "  wit,  humor,  and  knowledge  of 
life,"  as  much  as  any  of  his  former  works.  He  had  also 
begun  a  second  series  of  Tales,  under  the  title  of  Strauss- 
federn  (Ostrich  feathers)  ;  but  only  the  first  volume  had 
appeared,  when  death  put  a  period  to  his  labors.  He  had 
long  been  in  weakly  health ;  often  afflicted  with  violent 
headaches;  his  disorder  was  a  polypus  of  the  heart,  which 
cut  him  off  on  the  28th  of  October,  1787,  in  the  fifty-second 
year  of  his  age.  The  Straussfedcrn  was  completed  by 
another  hand  ;  and  a  small  volume  of  Remains,  edited  by 
Kotzebue  in  1791,  concludes  the  list  of  his  writings.  A 
simple  but  tasteful  memorial,  we  are  told,  was  erected  over 
his  grave  by  some  unknown  friend. 

Musaus  was  a  practical  believer  in  the  Horatian  maxim, 
Nil  admirari ,  of  a  jovial  heart,  and  a  penetrating,  well- 
cultivated   understanding,   he  saw  things   as  they  were,  and 


10  MUSAEUS. 

had  little  disposition  or  aptitude  to  invest  them  with  any 
colors  but  their  own.  Without  much  effort,  therefore,  he 
stood  aloof  from  every  species  of  cant ;  and  was  the  man 
he  thought  himself,  and  wished  others  to  think  him.  Had 
his  temper  been  unsocial  and  melancholic,  such  a  creed 
might  have  rendered  him  spiteful,  narrow,  and  selfish;  but 
nature  had  been  kinder  to  him  than  education.  He  did  not 
quarrel  with  the  world,  though  he  saw  its  barrenness,  and 
knew  not  how  to  make  it  solemn  any  more  than  lovely  ;  for 
his  heart  was  gay  and  kind  ;  and  an  imperturbable  good- 
humor,  more  potent  than  a  panoply  of  brass,  defended  him 
from  the  stings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  Fortune  to  the 
end  of  his  pilgrimage.  Few  laughers  have  walked  so  cir- 
cumspectly, and  acquired  or  merited  so  much  affection.  By 
profession  a  Mom  us,  he  looked  upon  the  world  as  little  else 
than  a  boundless  Chase,  where  the  wise  were  to  recreate 
themselves  with  the  hunting  of  Follies ;  and  perhaps  he  is 
the  only  satirist  on  record  of  whom  it  can  be  said,  that  his 
jesting  never  cost  him  a  friend.  His  humor  is,  indeed,  un- 
tinctured  with  bitterness  ;  sportful,  ebullient,  and  guileless, 
as  the  frolics  of  a  child.  He  could  not  reverence  men  ; 
but  with  all  their  faults  he  loved  them  ;  for  they  were  his 
brethren,  and  their  faults  were  not  clearer  to  him  than  his 
own.  He  inculcated  or  entertained  no  lofty  principles  of 
generosity  ;  yet,  though  never  rich  in  purse,  he  was  always 
ready  to  divide  his  pittance  with  a  needier  fellow-man.  Of 
vanity  he  showed  little  or  none  ;  in  obscurity  he  was  con- 
tented ;  and  when  his  honors  came,  he  wore  them  meekly, 
and  was  the  last  to  see  that  they  were  merited.  In  society 
he  was  courteous  and  yielding;  a  universal  favorite;  in 
his  chosen  circle,  the  most  fascinating  of  companions. 
From  the  slenderest  trifle  he  could  spin  a  boundless  web  of 
drollery  ;  and  his  brilliant  mirth  enlivened  without  wound- 
ing.    With  the    foibles  of  others    he  abstained   from  med- 


MUSAEUS.  11 

dling ;  but  among  his  friends,  we  are  informed,  he  could  for 
hours  keep  the  table  in  a  roar,  when,  with  his  dry,  inimitable 
vein,  he  started  some  banter  on  himself  or  his  wife ;  and, 
in  trustful  abandonment,  laid  the  reins  on  the  neck  of  his 
fancy  to  pursue  it.  Without  enthusiasm  of  character,  or 
any  pretension  to  high  or  even  earnest  qualities,  he  was  a 
well-conditioned,  laughter-loving,  kindly  man;  led  a  gay, 
jestful  life  ;  conquering,  by  contentment  and  mirth  of  heart, 
the  long  series  of  difficulties  and  distresses  with  which  it 
assailed  him  ;  and  died  regretted  by  his  nation,  as  a  for- 
warder of  harmless  pleasure  ;  and  by  those  that  knew  him 
better,  as  a  truthful,  unassuming,  affectionate,  and,  on  the 
whole,  very  estimable  person. 

His  intellectual  character  corresponds  with  his  moral  and 
social  one  ;  not  high  or  glorious,  but  genuine  so  far  as  it 
goes.  He  does  not  approach  the  first  rank  of  writers  ;  he 
attempts  not  to  deal  with  the  deeper  feelings  of  the  heart; 
and  for  instructing  the  judgment,  he  ranks  rather  as  a  sound, 
well-informed,  common-sense  thinker,  than  as  a  man  of  high 
wisdom  or  originality.  He  advanced  few  new  truths,  but  he 
dressed  many  old  ones  in  sprightly  apparel ;  and  it  ought  to 
be  remembered,  that  he  kept  himself  unspotted  from  the 
errors  of  his  time  ;  a  merit  which  posterity  is  apt  to  under- 
rate ;  for  nothing  seems  more  stolid  than  a  past  delusion; 
and  we  forget  that  delusions,  destined  also  to  be  past,  are 
now  present  with  ourselves,  about  us,  and  within  us,  which, 
were  the  task  so  easy,  it  is  pity  that  we  do  not  forthwith 
convict  and  cast  away,  Musaus  had  a  quick,  vigorous  in- 
tellect, a  keen  eye  for  the  common  forms  of  the  beautiful, 
a  fancy  ever  prompt  with  allusions,  and  an  overflowing 
store  of  sprightly  and  benignant  humor.  These  natural 
gifts  he  had  not  neglected  to  cultivate  by  study  both  of  books 
and  things;  his  reading  distinguishes  him  even  in  Germany; 
nor  does  he  bear  it   about  him  like  an  ostentatious  burden, 


12 


MUSAEUS. 


but  in  the  shape  of  spiritual  strength  and  plenty  derived 
from  it.  As  an  author,  his  beauties  and  defects  are  numer- 
ous and  easily  discerned.  His  style  sparkles  with  meta- 
phors, sometimes  just  and  beautiful,  often  new  and  sur- 
prising; but  it  is  laborious,  unnatural,  and  diffuse.  Of  his 
humor,  his  distinguishing  gift,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  it 
seems  copious  rather  than  fine,  and  originates  rather  in  the 
understanding  than  in  the  character;  his  heart  is  not  deli- 
cate, or  his  affections  tender;  but  he  loves  the  ludicrous 
with  true  passion  ;  and  seeing  keenly,  if  he  feels  obtusely, 
he  can  choose  with  sufficient  skill  the  point  of  view  from 
which  his  object  shall  appear  distorted,  as  he  requires  it. 
This  is  the  humor  of  a  Swift  or  a  Voltaire,  but  not  of  a 
Cervantes,  or  even  of  a  Sterne  in  his  best  passages ;  it  may 
produce  a  Zadig,  or  a  Battle  of  the  Books ;  but  not  a  Don 
Quixote,  or  a  Corporal  Trim.  Musaus  is,  in  fact,  no  poet ; 
he  can  see,  and  describe  with  rich  graces  what  he  sees ; 
but  he  is  nothing,  or  very  little,  of  a  Maker.  His  imagina- 
tion is  not  powerless ;  it  is  like  a  bird  of  feeble  wing,  which 
can  fly  from  tree  to  tree  ;  but  never  soars  for  a  moment 
into  the  sether  of  Poetry,  to  bathe  in  its  serene  splendor, 
with  the  region  of  the  Actual  lying  far  below,  and  bright- 
ened into  beauty  by  radiance  not  its  own.  He  is  a  man 
of  fine  and  varied  talent,  but  scarcely  of  any  genius. 

These  characteristics  are  apparent  enough  in  his  Popular 
Tales ;  they  may  be  traced  even  in  the  few  specimens  of 
that  work,  by  which  he  is  now  introduced  to  the  English 
reader.  As  has  been  already  stated,  his  Volksmahrchen 
exhibit  himself  much  better  than  his  subject.  He  is  not 
admitted  by  his  critics  to  have  seized  the  finest  spirit  of 
this  species  of  fiction,  or  turned  it  to  the  account  of  which 
it  is  capable  in  other  hands.  Whatever  was  austere  or 
earnest,  still  more,  whatever  bordered  upon  awe  or  horror^ 
his  riant  fancy  rejected  with  aversion ;  the   rigorous   moral 


MUSAEUS. 


13 


sometimes  hid  in  these  traditions,  the  grim  lines  of  primeval 
feeling  and  imagination  to  be  traced  in  them,  had  no  charms 
for  him.  These  ruins  of  the  remote  time  he  has  not  at- 
tempted to  complete  into  a  perfect  edifice,  according  to 
the  first  simple  plan  ;  he  has  rather  pargetted  them  anew, 
and  decorated  them  with  the  most  modern  ornaments  and 
furniture ;  and  he  introduces  his  guests,  with  a  roguish 
smile  at  the  strange,  antic  contrast  they  are  to  perceive 
between  the  movables  and  the  apartment.  Sometimes  he 
rises  into  a  flight  of  simple  eloquence,  and,  for  a  sentence 
or  two,  seems  really  beautiful  and  affecting;  but  the  knave 
is  always  laughing  in  his  sleeve  at  our  credulity,  and  returns 
with  double  relish  to  riot  at  will  in  his  favorite  domain. 

Of  the   three  Tales   here   offered  to  the   reader   nothing 
need  be  said  in  explanation  ;  for  their  whole  significance, 
with   all   their  beauties  and  blemishes,  lies  very  near  the 
surface.     I  have   selected   them,  as  specimens  at  once  of 
his  manner  and  his  materials ;  in  the  hope,  that,  conveying 
some  impression  of  a  gifted  and  favorite  writer,  they  may 
furnish  a  little   entertainment   both   to   the   lovers  of   intel- 
lectual   novelty,  and   of  innocent  amusement.     To   neither 
can  I   promise   very   much.     Musaus  is  a  man  of  sterling 
powers,  but  no  literary   monster ;    and   his   Tales,   though 
smooth    and    glittering,   are    cold ;    they   have    beauty,  yet 
it  is  the  beauty  not  of  living  forms,  but  of  well-proportioned 
statues.      Meanwhile,  I   have    given   him   as   I  found   him, 
endeavoring  to  copy  faithfully ;  changing  nothing,  whether 
I   might  think  it  good   or  bad,  that   my   skill   enabled   me 
to  keep  unchanged.     With  all  drawbacks,  I  anticipate  some 
favor  for  him;    but    his   case    admits   no   pleading,-    being 
clear  by  its  own  light,  it  must  stand   or   fall   by  a  first  judg- 
ment, and  without  the  help  of  advocates. 
vol.  i.  2 


POPULAR    TALES. 


DUMB   LOVE. 


There  was  once  a  wealthy  merchant,  Melchior  of  Bremen 
by  name,  who  used  to  stroke  his  beard  with  a  contemptuous 
grin,  when  he  heard  the  Rich  Man  in  the  Gospel  preached 
of,  whom,  in  comparison,  he  reckoned  little  better  than  a 
petty  shopkeeper.  Melchior  had  money  in  such  plenty, 
that  he  floored  his  dining-room  all  over  with  a  coat  of  solid 
dollars.  In  those  frugal  times,  as  in  our  own,  a  certain 
luxury  prevailed  among  the  rich  ;  only  then  it  had  a  more 
substantial  shape  than  now.  But  though  this  pomp  of  Mel- 
chior's  was  sharply  censured  by  his  fellow-citizens  and  con- 
sorts, it  was,  in  truth,  directed  more  to  trading  speculation  than 
to  mere  vain-glory.  The  cunning  Bremer  easily  observed, 
that  those,  who  grudged  and  blamed  this  seeming  vanity, 
would  but  diffuse  the  reputation  of  his  wealth,  and  so  in- 
crease his  credit.  He  gained  his  purpose  to  the  full ;  the 
sleeping  capital  of  old  dollars  so  judiciously  set  up  to  public 
inspection  in  the  parlor,  brought  interest  a  hundred  fold,  by 
the  silent  surety  which  it  offered  for  his  bargains  in  every 
market ;  yet,  at  last,  it  became  a  rock  on  which  the  welfare 
of  his  family  made  shipwreck. 

Melchior  of  Bremen  died  of  a  surfeit  at  a  city-feast,  with- 
out having  time  to  set  his  house  in  order  ;  and  left  all  his 
goods  and  chattels  to  an  only  son,  in  the  bloom  of  life,  and 


DUMB    LOVE.  15 

just  arrived  at  the  years  when  the  laws  allowed  him  to  take 
possession  of  his  inheritance.  Franz  Melcherson  was  a 
brilliant  youth,  endued  by  nature  with  the  best,  capacities. 
His  exterior  was  gracefully  formed,  yet  firm  and  sinewy 
withal  ;  his  temper  was  cheery  and  jovial,  as  if  hung-beef 
and  old  French  wine  had  joined  to  influence  his  formation. 
On  his  cheeks  bloomed  health  ;  and  from  his  brown  eyes 
looked  mirthfulness  and  love  of  joy.  He  was  like  a  mar- 
rowy plant,  which  needs  but  water  and  the  poorest  ground 
to  make  it  grow  to  strength  ;  but  which,  in  loo  fat  a  soil, 
will  shoot  into  luxuriant  overgrowth,  without  fruit  or  use- 
fulness. The  father's  heritage,  as  often  happens,  proved 
the  ruin  of  the  son.  Scarce  had  he  felt  the  joy  of  being 
sole  possessor  and  disposer  of  a  large  fortune,  when  he  set 
about  endeavoring  to  get  rid  of  it  as  of  a  galling  burden  ; 
began  to  play  the  Rich  Man  in  the  Gospel  to  the  very  let- 
ter ;  went  clothed  in  fine  apparel,  and  fared  sumptuously 
every  day.  No  feast  at  the  bishop's  court  could  be  com- 
pared for  pomp  and  superfluity  with  his  ;  and  never,  while 
the  town  of  Bremen  shall  endure,  will  such  another  public 
dinner  be  consumed  as  it  yearly  got  from  him  ;  for  to  every 
burgher  of  the  place  he  gave  a  Krusel-soup  and  a  jug  of 
Spanish  wine.  For  this  all  people  cried,  Long  life  to  him! 
and  Franz  became  the  hero  of  the  day. 

In  this  unceasing  whirl  of  jovialty,  no  thought  was  cast 
upon  the  Balancing  of  Entries,  which,  in  those  days,  was 
the  merchant's  vade-mecum,  though  in  our  times  it  is  going 
out  of  fashion,  and  for  want  of  it  the  tongue  of  the  com- 
mercial beam  too  frequently  declines  with  a  magnetic  virtue 
from  the  vertical  position.  Some  years  passed  on  without 
the  joyful  Franz's  noticing  a  diminution  in  his  incomes; 
for  at  his  father's  death  every  chest  and  coffer  had  been 
full.  The  voracious  host  of  table-friends,  the  airy  company 
of  jesters,  gamesters,  parasites,  and  all  who  had  their  living 


16 


MUSAEUS. 


by  the  prodigal  son,  took  special  care  to  keep  reflection  at 
a  distance  from  him  ;  they  hurried  him  from  one  enjoy- 
ment to  another  ;  kept  him  constantly  in  play,  lest  in  some 
sober  moment  Reason  might  awake,  and  snatch  him  from 
their  plundering  claws. 

But  at  last  their  well  of  happiness  went  suddenly  dry  ; 
old  Melchior's  casks  of  gold  were  now  run  off  even  to  the 
lees.  One  day,  Franz  ordered  payment  of  a  large  ac- 
count ;  his  cash-keeper  was  not  in  a  state  to  execute  the 
precept,  and  returned  it  with  a  protest.  This  counter-inci- 
dent flashed  keenly  through  the  soul  of  Franz  ;  yet  he  felt 
nothing  else  but  anger  and  vexation  at  his  servant,  to  whose 
unaccountable  perversity,  by  no  means  to  his  own  ill  hus- 
bandry, he  charged  the  present  disorder  in  his  finances. 
Nor  did  he  give  himself  the  trouble  to  investigate  the  real 
condition  of  the  business  ;  but  after  flying  to  the  common 
FooPs-litany,  and  thundering  out  some  scores  of  curses,  he 
transmitted  to  his  shoulder-shrugging  steward,  the  laconic 
order,  Find  means. 

Bill-brokers,  usurers,  and  money-changers  now  eame  into 
play.  For  high  interest,  fresh  sums  were  poured  into  the 
empty  coffers  ;  the  silver  flooring  of  the  dining-room  was 
then  more  potent,  in  the  eyes  of  creditors,  than  in  these 
times  of  ours  the  promissory  obligation  of  the  Congress  of 
America,  with  the  whole  thirteen  United  States  to  back  it. 
This  palliative  succeeded  for  a  season  ;  but,  underhand,  the 
rumor  spread  about  the  town,  that  the  silver  flooring  had 
been  privily  removed,  and  a  stone  one  substituted  in  its 
stead.  The  matter  was  immediately,  by  application  of  the 
lenders,  legally  inquired  into,  and  discovered  to  be  actually 
so.  Now,  it  could  not  be  denied,  that  a  marble  floor, 
worked  into  nice  Mosaic,  looked  much  better  in  a  parlor, 
than  a  sheet  of  dirty,  tarnished  dollars  ;  the  creditors,  how- 
ever, paid  so  little  reverence  to  the   proprietor's  refinement 


DUMB    LOVE.  17 

of  taste,  that  on  the  spot  they,  one  and  all,  demanded  pay- 
ment of  their  several  moneys  ;  and  as  this  was  not  complied 
with,  they  proceeded  to  procure  an  act  of  bankruptcy  ;  and 
Melchior's  house,  with  its  appurtenances,  offices,  gardens, 
parks,  and  furniture,  were  sold  by  public  auction,  and  their 
late  owner,  who  in  this  extremity  had  screened  himself 
from  jail  by  some  chicanery  of  law,  judicially  ejected. 

It  was  now  too  late  to  moralize  on  his  absurdities,  since 
philosophical  reflections  could  not  alter  what  was  done,  and 
the  most  wholesome  resolutions  would  not  bring  him  back 
his  money.  According  to  the  principles  of  this  our  culti- 
vated century,  the  hero  at  this  juncture  ought  to  have  re- 
tired with  dignity  from  the  stage,  or  in  some  way  termi- 
nated his  existence ;  to  have  entered  on  his  travels  into 
foreign  parts,  or  opened  his  carotid  artery  ;  since  in  his 
native  town  he  could  live  no  longer  as  a  man  of  honor. 
Franz  neither  did  the  one  nor  the  other.  The  qu'en-dira- 
t-on,  which  French  morality  employs  as  bit  and  curb  for 
thoughtlessness  and  folly,  had  never  once  occurred  to  the 
unbridled  squanderer  in  the  days  of  his  profusion,  and  his 
sensibility  was  still  too  dull  to  feel  so  keenly  the  disgrace 
of  his  capricious  wastefulness.  He  was  like  a  toper,  who 
has  been  in  drink,  and,  on  awakening  out  of  his  carousal, 
cannot  rightly  understand  how  matters  are  or  have  been 
with  him.  He  lived  according  to  the  manner  of  unprosper- 
ing  spendthrifts;  repented  not,  lamented  not.  By  good 
fortune,  he  had  picked  some  relics  from  the  wreck  ;  a  few 
small  heir-looms  of  the  family  ;  and  these  secured  him  for 
a  time  from  absolute  starvation. 

He  engaged  a  lodging  in  a  remote  alley,  into  which  the 
sun  never  shone  throughout  the  year,  except  for  a  few  days 
about  the  solstice,  when  it  peeped  for  a  short  while  over  the 
high  roofs.  Here  he  found  the  little  that  his  now  much 
contracted  wants  required.  The  frugal  kitchen  of  his  land- 
2* 


18 


MUSAEUS. 


lord  screened   him   from   hunger,  the   stove  from  cold,  the 
roof  from   rain,   the  four  walls   from   wind  ;  only  from  the 
pains   of  tedium   he   could    devise  no    refuge   or    resource. 
The  light   rabble  of  parasites  had  fled  away  with  his   pros- 
perity ;  and  of  his  former  friends  there  was  now  no  one  that 
knew  him.     Reading   had  not   yet   become  a  necessary  of 
life;  people   did   not  yet  understand  the  art  of  killing  time 
by  means  of  those  amusing  shapes  of  fancy  which  are  wont 
to  lodge  in  empty  heads.     There  were   yet  no   sentimental, 
pedagogic,  psychologic,  popular,   simple,  comic,    or  moral 
tales ;   no   novels   of  domestic   life,    no    cloister-stories,    no 
romances  of  the  middle  ages  ;  and  of  the  innumerable  gen- 
eration of  our  Henrys,  and   Adelaides,  and  Cliffords,   and 
Emmas,  no  one  had  as  yet  lifted  up  its  mantuamaker  voice, 
to  weary  out  the  patience  of  a  lazy   and  discerning  pub- 
lic.    In   those  days,   knights   were  still   diligently    pricking 
round  the  tilt-yard  ;  Dietrich  of  Bern,   Hildebrand,  Seyfried 
with  the  Horns,  Rennewart  the  Strong,  were  following  their 
snake  and   dragon   hunt,   and   killing  giants  and  dwarfs  of 
twelve  men's  strength.     The   venerable  epos,  Theuerdank, 
was  the   loftiest   ideal  of  German  art  and   skill,  the  latest 
product  of  our  native  wit,  but  only  for  the  cultivated  minds, 
the  poets  and  thinkers  of  the  age.     Franz  belonged  to  none 
of  those  classes,  and  had  therefore  nothing  to  employ  him- 
self upon,    except  that   he   tuned  his  lute,    and   sometimes 
twanged  a   little  on    it  ;  then,  by  way  of  variation,  took  to 
looking  from  the  window,  and   instituted  observations  on  the 
weather ;  out  of  which,  indeed,  there  came  no  inference  a 
whit  more  edifying  than   from   all   the   labors  of  the  most 
rheumatic  meteorologist  of  this  present  age.     Meanwhile,  his 
turn  for  observation  ere   long  found  another  sort  of  nourish- 
ment, by  which  the  vacant  space  in  his  head  and  heart  was 
at  once  filled. 

In   the  narrow  lane,  right  opposite  his   window,  dwelt  an 


DUMB    LOVE.  19 

honest  matron,  who,  in  hope  of  better  times,  was  earning  a 
painful  living  by  the  long  threads,  which,  assisted  by  a 
marvellously  fair  daughter,  she  winded  daily  from  her 
spindle.  Day  after  day  the  couple  spun  a  lentil  of  yarn, 
with  which  the  whole  town  of  Bremen,  with  its  walls  and 
trenches,  and  all  its  suburbs,  might  have  been  begirt.  These 
two  spinners  had  not  been  born  for  the  wheel  ;  they  were 
of  good  descent,  and  had  lived  of  old  in  pleasant  affluence. 
The  fair  Meta's  father  had  once  had  a  ship  of  his  own  on  the 
sea,  and,  freighting  it  himself,  had  yearly  sailed  to  Ant- 
werp ;  but  a  heavy  storm  had  sunk  the  vessel,  "  with  man 
and  mouse,"  and  a  rich  cargo,  into  the  abysses  of  the  ocean, 
before  Meta  had  passed  the  years  of  her  childhood.  The 
mother,  a  staid  and  reasonable  woman,  bore  the  loss  of  her 
husband  and  all  her  fortune  with  a  wise  composure  ;  in  her 
need  she  refused,  out  of  noble  pride,  all  help  from  the 
charitable  sympathy  of  her  relations  and  friends ;  consider- 
ing it  as  shameful  alms,  so  long  as  she  believed  that  in  her 
own  activity  she  might  find  a  living  by  the  labor  of  her 
hands.  She  gave  up  her  large  house,  and  all  her  costly 
furniture,  to  the  rigorous  creditors  of  her  ill-fated  husband, 
hired  a  little  dwelling  in  the  lane,  and  span  from  early 
morning  till  late  night,  though  the  trade  went  sore  against 
her,  and  she  often  wetted  the  thread  with  her  tears.  Yet  by 
this  diligence  she  reached  her  object,  of  depending  upon  no 
one,  and  owing  no  mortal  any  obligation.  By  and  by  she 
trained  her  growing  daughter  to  the  same  employment;  and 
lived  so  thriftily,  that  she  .laid  by  a  trifle  of  her  gainings, 
and  turned  it  to  account  by  carrying  on  a  little  trade  in 
flax. 

She,  however,  nowise  purposed  to  conclude  her  life  in 
these  poor  circumstances  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  honest  dame 
kept  up  her  heart  with  happy  prospects  into  the  future,  and 
hoped  that  she  should  once  more  attain  a  prosperous  situa- 


20  MUSAEUS. 

tion,  and  in  the  autumn  of  her  life  enjoy  her  woman's-sum- 
mer.  Nor  were  these  hopes  grounded  altogether  upon 
empty  dreams  of  fancy,  but  upon  a  rational  and  calculated 
expectation.  She  saw  her  daughter  budding  up  like  a 
spring  rose,  no  less  virtuous  and  modest  than  she  was  fair; 
and  with  such  endowments  of  heart  and  spirit,  that  the  mother 
felt  delight  and  comfort  in  her,  and  spared  the  morsel  from 
her  own  lips,  that  nothing  might  be  wanting  in  an  education 
suitable  to  her  capacities.  For  she  thought,  that,  if  a  maiden 
could  come  up  to  the  sketch  which  Solomon,  the  wise  friend 
of  woman,  has  left  of  the  ideal  of  a  perfect  wife,  it  could 
not  fail  that  a  pearl  of  such  price  would  be  sought  after,  and 
bidden  for,  to  ornament  some  good  man's  house;  for  beauty, 
combined  with  virtue,  in  the  days  of  Mother  Brigitta,  were 
as  important  in  the  eyes  of  wooers,  as,  in  our  days,  birth 
combined  with  fortune.  Besides,  the  number  of  suitors  was 
in  those  times  greater  ;  it  was  then  believed  that  the  wife 
was  the  most  essential,  not,  as  in  our  refined,  economical 
theory,  the  most  superfluous  item  in  the  household.  The 
fair  Meta,  it  is  true,  bloomed  only  like  a  precious,  rare  flower 
in  the  greenhouse,  not  under  the  gay,  free  sky;  she  lived 
in  maternal  oversight  and  keeping,  sequestered  and  still  ; 
was  seen  in  no  walk,  in  no  company  ;  and  scarcely  once  in 
the  year  passed  through  the  gate  of  her  native  town  ;  all 
which  seemed  utterly  to  contradict  her  mother's  principle. 
The  old  Lady  E  *  *  of  Memel  understood  it  otherwise,  in 
her  time.  She  sent  the  itinerant  Sophia,  it  is  clear  as  day, 
from  Memel  into  Saxony,  simply  on  a  marriage  speculation, 
and  attained  her  purpose  fully.  How  many  hearts  did  the 
wandering  nymph  set  on  fire,  how  many  suitors  courted 
her!  Had  she  staid  at  home,  as  a  domestic  modest  maiden, 
she  might  have  bloomed  away  in  the  remoteness  of  her 
virgin  cell,  without  even  making  a  conquest  of  Kubbuz  the 
schoolmaster.       Other    times,    other    manners.      Daughters 


DUMB    LOVE.  21 

with  us  are  a  sleeping  capital,  which  must  be  put  in  circu- 
lation if  it  is  to  yield  any  interest ;  of  old,  they  were  kept 
like  thrifty  savings,  under  lock  and  key  ;  yet  the  bankers 
still  knew  where  the  treasure  lay  concealed,  and  how  it 
might  be  come  at.  Mother  Brigitta  steered  towards  some 
prosperous  son-in-law,  who  might  lead  her  back  from  the 
Babylonian  captivity  of  the  narrow  lane  into  the  land  of 
superfluity,  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  ;  and  trusted  firm- 
ly that  in  the  urn  of  Fate  her  daughter's  lot  would  not  be 
coupled  with  a  blank. 

One  day,  while  neighbor  Franz  was  looking  from  the 
window,  making  observations  on  the  weather,  he  perceived 
the  charming  Meta  coming  with  her  mother  from  church, 
whither  she  went  daily,  to  attend  mass.  In  the  times  of  his 
abundance,  the  unstable  voluptuary  had  been  blind  to  the 
fairer  half  of  the  species  ;  the  finer  feelings  were  still  slum- 
bering in  his  breast ;  and  all  his  senses  had  been  overclouded 
by  the  ceaseless  tumult  of  debauchery.  But  now  the  stor- 
my waves  of  extravagance  had  subsided  ;  and  in  this  deep 
calm  the  smallest  breath  of  air  sufficed  to  curl  the  mirror 
surface  of  his  soul.  He  was  enchanted  by  the  aspect  of 
this,  the  loveliest  female  figure  that  had  ever  flitted  past 
him.  He  abandoned,  from  that  hour,  the  barren  study  of  the 
winds  and  clouds,  and  now  instituted  quite  another  set  of 
Observations  for  the  furtherance  of  Moral  Science,  and  one 
which  afforded  to  himself  much  finer  occupation.  He  soon 
extracted  from  his  landlord  intelligence  of  this  fair  neighbor, 
and  learned  most  part  of  what  we  know  already. 

Now  rose  on  him  the  first  repentant  thought  for  his  heed- 
less squandering ;  there  awoke  a  secret  good-will  in  his 
heart  to  this  new  acquaintance ;  and  for  her  sake  he  wished 
that  his  paternal  inheritance  were  his  own  again,  that  the 
lovely  Meta  might  be  fitly  dowered  with  it.  His  garret  in 
the  narrow  lane  was  now  so  dear  to  him,  that   he  would  not 


22 


MUSAEUS. 


have  exchanged  it  with  the  Schudding  itself.*  Throughout 
the  day  he  stirred  not  from  the  window,  watching  for  an 
opportunity  of  glancing  at  the  dear  maiden  ;  and  when  she 
chanced  to  show  herself,  he  felt  more  rapture  in  his  soul 
than  did  Horrox  in  his  Liverpool  Observatory,  when  he  saw, 
for  the  first  time,  Venus  passing  over  the  disk  of  the 
Sun. 

Unhappily  the  watchful  mother  instituted  counter-observa- 
tions, and  ere  long  discovered  what  the  lounger  on  the  other 
side  was  driving  at  ;  and  as  Franz,  in  the  capacity  of  spend- 
thrift, already  stood  in  very  bad  esteem  with  her,  this  daily 
gazing  angered  her  so  much,  that  she  shrouded  her  lattice 
as  with  a  cloud,  and  drew  the  curtains  close  together. 
Meta  had  the  strictest  orders  not  again  to  appear  at  the  win- 
dow ;  and  when  her  mother  went  with  her  to  mass,  she 
drew  a  rain-cap  over  her  face,  disguised  her  like  a  favorite 
of  the  Grand  Seignior,  and  hurried  till  she  turned  the  corner 
with  her,  and  escaped  the  eyes  of  the  lier-in-wait. 

Of  Franz,  it  was  not  held  that  penetration  was  his  master 
faculty  ;  but  Love  awakens  all  the  talents  of  the  mind.  He 
observed  that  by  his  imprudent  spying  he  had  betrayed 
himself;  and  he  thenceforth  retired  from  the  window,  with 
the  resolution  not  again  to  lookout  at  it,  though  the  Venera- 
bih  itself  were  carried  by.  On  the  other  hand,  he  medi- 
tated some  invention  for  proceeding  with  his  observations 
in  a  private  manner  ;  and  without  great  labor  his  combining 
spirit  mastered  it. 

He  hired  the  largest  looking-glass  that  he  could  find,  and 
hung  it  up  in  his  room,  with  such  an  elevation  and  direction, 
that  he  could  distinctly  see  whatever  passed  in  the  dwelling 
of  his  neighbors.     Here,   as  for  several  days  the  watcher 

*  One  of  ihe  largest  buildings  in  Bremen,  where  the  meetings  of 
the  merchants  are  usually  held, 


DUMB    LOVE.  23 

did  not  come  to  light,  the  screens  by  degrees  went  asunder  ; 
and  the  broad  mirror  now  and  then  could  catch  the  form  of 
the  noble  maid,  and,  to  the  great  refreshment  of  the  virtuoso, 
cast  it  truly  back.  The  more  deeply  love  took  root  in  his 
heart,*  the  more  widely  did  his  wishes  extend.  It  now 
struck  him  that  he  ought  to  lay  his  passion  open  to  the  fair 
Meta,  and  investigate  the  corresponding  state  of  her  opin- 
ions. The  commonest  and  readiest  way  which  lovers,  under 
such  a  constellation  of  their  wishes,  strike  into,  was  in  his 
position  inaccessible.  In  those  modest  ages,  it  was  always 
difficult  for  Paladins  in  love  to  introduce  themselves  to 
daughters  of  the  family  ;  toilette  calls  were  not  in  fashion  ; 
trustful  interviews  tete-a-tete  were  punished  by  the  loss  of 
reputation  to  the  female  sharer  ;  promenades,  esplanades, 
masquerades,  pic-nics,  goutes,  soupes,  and  other  inventions 
of  modern  wit  for  forwarding  sweet  courtship,  had  not  then 
been  hit  upon  ;  yet,  notwithstanding,  all  things  went  their 
course,  much  as  they  do  with  us.  Gossipings,  weddings, 
lykewakes,  were,  especially  in  our  Imperial  Cities,  privileg- 
ed vehicles  for  carrying  on  soft  secrets,  and  expediting 
marriage  contracts ;  hence  the  old  proverb,  One  wedding 
makes  a  score.  But  a  poor  runagate  no  man  desired  to 
number  among  his  baptismal  relatives ;  to  no  nuptial  dinner, 
to  no  wake-supper,  was  he  bidden.  The  by-way  of  nego- 
tiating, with  the  woman,  with  the  young  maid,  or  any  other 
serviceable  spirit  of  a  go-between,  was  here  locked  up. 
Mother  Brigitta  had  neither  maid  nor  woman  ;  the  flax  and 
yarn  trade  passed  through  no  hands  but  her  own  ;  and  she 
abode  by  her  daughter  as  closely  as  her  shadow. 

In  these  circumstances,  it  was  clearly  impossible  for 
neighbor  Franz  to  disclose  his  heart  to  the  fair  Mela,  either 
verbally  or  in  writing.     Ere   long,  however,   he  invented  an 

*  ^  jLnh  rov  oQav  tQ/irai  to  iQav. 


24 


MU5AEUS. 


idiom,  which  appeared  expressly  calculated  for  the  utter- 
ance of  the  passions.  It  is  true,  the  honor  of  the  first  in- 
vention is  not  his.  Many  ages  ago,  the  sentimental  Cela- 
dons of  Italy  and  Spain  had  taught  melting  harmonies,  in 
serenades  beneath  the  balconies  of  their  dames,  to  speak 
the  language  of  the  heart ;  and  it  is  said  that  this  melodi- 
ous pathos  had  especial  virtue  in  love  matters  ;  and,  by  the 
confession  of  the  ladies,  was  more  heart-affecting  and  sub- 
duing, than  of  yore  the  oratory  of  the  reverend  Chrysostom, 
or  the  pleadings  of  Demosthenes  and  Tully.  But  of  all  this 
the  simple  Bremer  had  not  heard  a  syllable  ;  and,  conse- 
quently, the  invention  of  expressing  his  emotions  in  sym- 
phonious  notes,  and  trilling  them  to  his  beloved  Meta,  was 
entirely  his  own. 

In  an  hour  of  sentiment,  he  took  his  lute  ;  he  did  not 
now  tune  it  merely  to  accompany  his  voice,  but  drew  har- 
monious melodies  from  its  strings  ;  and  Love,  in  less  than 
a  month,  had  changed  the  musical  scraper  to  a  new  Am- 
phion.  His  first  efforts  did  not  seem  to  have  been  noticed  ; 
but  soon  the  population  of  the  lane  were  all  ear,  every  time 
the  dilettante  struck  a  note.  Mothers  hushed  their  children, 
fathers  drove  the  noisy  urchins  from  the  doors,  and  the  per- 
former had  the  satisfaction  to  observe  that  Meta  herself, 
with  her  alabaster  hand,  would  sometimes  open  the  window 
as  he  began  to  prelude.  If  he  succeeded  in  enticing  her  to 
lend  an  ear,  his  voluntaries  whirled  along  in  gay  allegro,  or 
skipped  away  in  mirthful  jigs  ;  but  if  the  turning  of  the 
spindle,  or  her  thrifty  mother,  kept  her  back,  a  heavy-laden 
andante  rolled  over  the  bridge  of  the  sighing  lute,  and  ex- 
pressed, in  languishing  modulations,  the  feeling  of  sadness 
which  love-pain  poured  over  his  soul. 

Meta  was  no  dull  scholar  ;  she  soon  learned  to  interpret 
this  expressive  speech.  She  made  various  experiments  to 
try  whether  she   had  rightly  understood   it,  and    found   that 


DUMB    LOVE.  25 

she  could  govern  at  her  will  the  dilettante  humors  of  the 
unseen  lute-twanger;  for  your  silent,  modest  maidens,  it  is 
well  known,  have  a  much  sharper  eye  than  those  giddy, 
flighty  girls  who  hurry  with  the  levity  of  butterflies  from 
one  object  to  another,  and  take  proper  heed  of  none.  She 
felt  her  female  vanity  a  little  flattered  ;  and  it  pleased  her 
that  she  had  it  in  her  power,  by  a  secret  magic,  to  direct 
the  neighboring  lute,  and  tune  it  now  to  the  note  of  joy,  now 
to  the  whimpering  moan  of  grief.  Mother  Brigitta,  on  the 
other  hand,  had  her  head  so  constantly  employed  with  her 
traffic  on  the  small  scale,  that  she  minded  none  of  these 
things ;  and  the  sly  little  daughter  took  especial  care  to  keep 
her  in  the  dark  respecting  the  discovery ;  and,  instigated 
either  by  some  touch  of  kindness  for  her  cooing  neighbor, 
or  perhaps  by  vanity,  that  she  might  show  her  hermeneutic 
penetration,  meditated  on  the  means  of  making  some  sym- 
bolical response  to  these  harmonious  apostrophes  to  her 
heart.  She  expressed  a  wish  to  have  flower-pots  on  the 
outside  of  the  window  ;  and  to  grant  her  this  innocent  amuse- 
ment was  a  light  thing  for  the  mother,  who  no  longer  feared 
the  coney-catching  neighbor,  now  that  she  no  longer  saw 
him  with  her  eyes. 

Henceforth  Meta  had  a  frequent  call  to  tend  her  flowers, 
to  water  them,  to  bind  them  up,  and  guard  them  from  ap- 
proaching storms,  and  watch  their  growth  and  flourishing. 
With  inexpressible  delight  the  happy  Franz  explained  this 
hieroglyphic  altogether  in  his  favor ;  and  the  speaking  lute 
did  not  fail  to  modulate  his  glad  emotions,  through  the  alley, 
into  the  heedful  ear  of  the  fair  friend  of  flowers.  This,  in 
her  tender  virgin  heart,  worked  wonders.  She  began  to  be 
secretly  vexed,  when  mother  Brigitta,  in  her  wise  table-talk, 
in  which  at  times  she  spent  an  hour  chatting  with  her 
daughter,  brought  their  melodious  neighbor  to  her  bar,  and 
called  him  a  losel   and  a   sluggard,  or   compared   him  with 

vol.  i.  3 


26  MUSAEUS. 

the  Prodigal  in  the  Gospel.  She  always  took  his  part ; 
threw  the  blame  of  his  ruin  on  the  sorrowful  temptations  he 
had  met  with ;  and  accused  him  of  nothing  worse  than  not 
having  fitly  weighed  the  golden  proverb,  A  penny  saved  is 
a  penny  got.  Yet  she  defended  him  with  cunning  prudence; 
so  that  it  rather  seemed  as  if  she  wished  to  help  the  conver- 
sation, than  took  any  interest  in  the  thing  itself. 

While  Mother  Brigitta  within  her  four  walls  was  inveigh- 
ing against  the  luckless  spendthrift,  he  on  his  side  entertained 
the  kindest  feelings  towards  her ;  and  was  considering  dili- 
gently how  he  might,  according  to  his  means,  improve  her 
straitened  circumstances,  and  divide  with  her  the  little  that 
remained  to  him,  and  so  that  she  might  never  notice  that  a 
portion  of  his  property  had  passed  over  into  hers.  This 
pious  outlay,  in  good  truth,  was  specially  intended  not  for 
the  mother,  but  the  daughter.  Underhand  he  had  come  to 
know,  that  the  fair  Meta  had  a  hankering  for  a  new  gown, 
which  her  mother  had  excused  herself  from  buying,  under 
pretext  of  hard  times.  Yet  he  judged  quite  accurately,  that 
a  present  of  a  piece  of  stuff,  from  an  unknown  hand,  would 
scarcely  be  received,  or  cut  into  a  dress  for  Meta ;  and  that 
he  should  spoil  all,  if  he  stept  forth  and  avowed  himself  the 
author  of  the  benefaction.  Chance  afforded  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  realize  this  purpose  in  the  way  he  wished. 

Mother  Brigitta  was  complaining  to  a  neighbor  that  flax 
was  very  dull ;  that  it  cost  her  more  to  purchase  than  the 
buyers  of  it  would  repay ;  and  that  hence  this  branch  of 
industry  was  nothing  better,  for  the  present,  than  a  withered 
bough.  Eaves-dropper  Franz  did  not  need  a  second  telling  ; 
he  ran  directly  to  the  goldsmith,  sold  his  mother's  ear-rings, 
bought  some  stones  of  flax,  and,  by  means  of  a  negotia- 
tress,  whom  he  gained,  had  it  offered  to  the  mother  for  a 
cheap  price.  The  bargain  was  concluded  ;  and  it  yielded 
so  richly,  that  on  All-Saints'  day  the  fair  Meta  sparkled  in  a 


DUMB    LOVE.  27 

fine  new  gown.  In  this  decoration,  she  had  such  a  splen- 
dor in  her  watchful  neighbor's  eyes,  that  he  would  have  over- 
looked the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins,  all  and  sundry,  had 
it  been  permitted  him  to  choose  a  heart's-mate  from  among 
them,  and  fixed  upon  the  charming  Meta. 

But  just  as  he  was  triumphing  in  the  result  of  his  inno- 
cent deceit,  the  secret  was  betrayed.  Mother  Brigitta  had 
resolved  to  do  the  flax- retailer,  who  had  brought  her  that 
rich  gain,  a  kindness  in  her  turn  ;  and  was  treating  her  with 
a  well-sugared  rice-pap,  and  a  quarter-stoop  of  Spanish  sack. 
This  dainty  set  in  motion  not  only  the  toothless  jaw,  but 
also  the  garrulous  tongue  of  the  crone.  She  engaged  to  con- 
tinue the  flax-brokerage,  should  her  consigner  feel  inclined, 
as  from  good  grounds  she  guessed  he  would.  One  word 
produced  another ;  Mother  Eve's  two  daughters  searched, 
with  the  curiosity  peculiar  to  their  sex,  till  at  length  the 
brittle  seal  of  female  secrecy  gave  way.  Meta  grew  pale 
with  affright  at  the  discovery,  which  would  have  charmed 
her,  had  her  mother  not  partaken  of  it.  But  she  knew  her 
strict  ideas  of  morals  and  decorum  ;  and  these  gave  her 
doubts  about  the  preservation  of  her  gown.  The  serious 
dame  herself  was  no  less  struck  at  the  tidings,  and  wished, 
on  her  side  too,  that  she  alone  had  got  intelligence  of  the 
specific  nature  of  her  flax-trade ;  for  she  dreaded  that  this 
neighborly  munificence  might  make  an  impression  on  her 
daughter's  heart,  which  would  derange  her  whole  calcula- 
tions. She  resolved,  therefore,  to  root  out  the  still  tender 
germ  of  this  weed,  in  the  very  act,  from  the  maiden  heart. 
The  gown,  in  spite  of  all  the  tears  and  prayers  of  its  lovely 
owner,  was  first  hypothecated,  and  next  day  transmitted  to 
the  huckster's  shop;  the  money  raised  from  it,  with  the 
other  profits  of  the  flax  speculation,  accurately  reckoned  up, 
were  packed  together,  and  under,  the  name  of  an  old  debt, 
returned  to  "  Mr.  Franz  Melcherson,  in  Bremen,"  by  help  of 


28  MUSAEUS. 

the  Hamburg  post.  The  receiver,  nothing  doubting,  took  the 
little  lot  of  money  as  an  unexpected  blessing ;  wished  that 
all  his  j  father's  debtors  would  clear  off  their  old  scores  as 
conscientiously  as  this  honest,  unknown  person  ;  and  had  not 
the  smallest  notion  of  the  real  position  of  affairs.  The  talk- 
ing brokeress,  of  course,  was  far  from  giving  him  a  true 
disclosure  of  her  blabbing  ;  she  merely  told  him  that  Mo- 
ther Brigitta  had  given  up  her  flax-trade. 

Meanwhile,  the  mirror  taught  him  that  the  aspects  over 
the  way  had  altered  greatly  in  a  single  night.  The  flower-pots 
were  entirely  vanished  ;  and  the  cloudy  veil  again  obscured 
the  friendly  horizon  of  the  opposite  window.  Meta  was 
seldom  visible ;  and  if  for  a  moment,  like  the  silver  moon 
from  among  her  clouds  in  a  stormy  night,  she  did  appear, 
her  countenance  was  troubled,  the  fire  of  her  eyes  was  ex- 
tinguished, and  it  seemed  to  him,  that,  at  times,  with  her 
finger,  she  pressed  away  a  pearly  tear.  This  seized  him 
sharply  by  the  heart ;  and  his  lute  resounded  melancholy 
sympathy,  in  soft,  Lydian  mood.  He  grieved,  and  meditated 
to  discover  why  his  love  was  sad ;  but  all  his  thinking  and 
imagining  were  vain.  After  some  days  were  past,  he  no- 
ticed, to  his  consternation,  that  his  dearest  piece  of  furniture, 
the  large  mirror,  had  become  entirely  useless.  He  set  him- 
self one  bright  morning  in  his  usual  nook,  and  observed  that 
the  clouds  over  the  way  had,  like  natural  fog,  entirely  dis- 
persed ;  a  sign  which  he  at  first  imputed  to  a  general  wash- 
ing ;  but  ere  long  he  saw  that  in  the  chamber  all  was  waste 
and  empty  ;  his  pleasing  neighbors  had  in  silence  with- 
drawn the  night  before,  and  broken  up  their  quarters. 

He  might  now,  once  more,  with  the  greatest  leisure  and 
convenience,  enjoy  the  free  prospect  from  his  window,  with- 
out fear  of  being  troublesome  to  any  ;  but  for  him  it  was  a 
dead  loss  to  miss  the  kind  countenance  of  his  Platonic  love. 
Mute  and  stupefied,  he  stood,  as  of  old  his  fellow-craftsman, 


DUMB    LOVE. 


29 


the  harmonious  Orpheus,  when  the  dear  shadow  of  his  Eu- 
rydice  again  vanished  down  to  Orcus  ;  and  if  the  bedlam 
humor  of  those  "  noble  minds,"  who  raved  among  us 
through  the  by-gone  lustre,  but  have  now  like  drones  disap- 
peared with  the  earliest  frost,  had  then  been  ripened  to  ex- 
istence, this  calm  of  his  would  certainly  have  passed  into  a 
sudden  hurricane.  The  least  he  could  have  done  would 
have  been  to  pull  his  hair,  to  trundle  himself  about  upon 
the  ground,  or  run  his  head  against  the  wall,  and  break  his 
stove  and  window.  All  this  he  omitted  ;  from  the  very 
simple  cause,  that  true  love  never  makes  men  fools,  but 
rather  is  the  universal  remedy  for  healing  sick  minds  of 
their  foolishness,  for  laying  gentle  fetters  on  extravagance, 
and  guiding  youthful  giddiness  from  the  broad  way  of  ruin 
to  the  narrow  path  of  reason ;  for  the  rake,  whom  love  will 
not  recover,  is  lost  irrecoverably. 

When  once  his  spirit  had  assembled  its  scattered  powers, 
he  set  on  foot  a  number  of  instructive  meditations  on  the 
unexpected  phenomenon,  but  too  visible  in  the  adjacent  ho- 
rizon. He  readily  conceived  that  he  was  the  lever  which 
had  effected  the  removal  of  the  wandering  colony  ;  his 
money-letter,  the  abrupt  conclusion  of  the  flax-trade,  and 
the  emigration  which  had  followed  thereupon,  were  like  re- 
ciprocal exponents  to  each  other,  and  explained  the  whole  to 
him.  He  perceived  that  Mother  Brigitta  had  got  round  his 
secrets,  and  saw  from  every  circumstance  that  he  was  not 
her  hero ;  a  discovery  which  yielded  him  but  little  satisfac- 
tion. The  symbolic  responses  of  the  fair  Meta,  with  her 
flower-pots,  to  his  musical  proposals  of  love  ;  her  trouble, 
and  the  tear  which  he  had  noticed  in  her  bright  eyes,  shortly 
before  her  departure  from  the  lane,  again  animated  his 
hopes,  and  kept  him  in  good  heart.  His  first  employment 
was  to  go  in  quest,  and  try  to  learn  where  Mother  Brigitta 
had  pitched  her  residence,  in  order  to  maintain,  by  some 
3* 


30 


MUSAEUS. 


means  or  other,  his  secret  understanding  with  the  daughter. 
It  cost  him  little  toil  to  find  her  abode  ;  yet  he  was  too  mod- 
est to  shift  his  own  lodging  to  her  neighborhood  ;  but  satis- 
fied himself  with  spying  out  the  church  where  she  now 
attended  mass,  that  he  might  treat  himself  once  each  day 
with  a  glance  of  his  beloved.  He  never  failed  to  meet  her 
as  she  returned,  now  here,  now  there,  in  some  shop  or  door 
which  she  was  passing,  and  salute  her  kindly  ;  an  equivalent 
for  a  billet-doux,  and  productive  of  the  same  effect. 

Had  not  Meta  been  brought  up  in  a  style  too  nunlike,  and 
guarded  by  her  rigid  mother  as  a  treasure  from  the  eyes  of 
thieves,  there  is  little  doubt  that  neighbor  Franz,  with  his 
secret  wooing,  would  have  made  no  great  impression  on  her 
heart.  But  she  was  at  the  critical  age,  when  Mother  Nature 
and  Mother  Brigitta,  with  their  wise  nurture,  were  perpetu- 
ally coming  into  collision.  The  former  taught  her,  by  a 
secret  instinct,  the  existence  of  emotions,  for  which  she 
had  no  name,  and  eulogized  them  as  the  panacea  of  life  ; 
the  latter  warned  her  to  beware  of  the  surprisals  of  a  pas- 
sion, which  she  would  not  designate  by  its  true  title,  but 
which,  as  she  maintained,  was  more  pernicious  and  destruc- 
tive to  young  maidens  than  the  small-pox  itself.  The  former 
in  the  spring  of  life,  as  beseemed  the  season,  enlivened  her 
heart  with  a  genial  warmth ;  the  latter  wished  that  it  should 
always  be  as  cold  and  frosty  as  an  ice-house.  These  con- 
flicting pedagogic  systems  of  the  two  good  mothers  gave 
the  tractable  heart  of  the  daughter  the  direction  of  a  ship 
which  is  steered  against  the  wind,  and  follows  neither  the 
wind  nor  the  helm,  but  a  course  between  the  two.  She 
maintained  the  modesty  and  virtue  which  her  education, 
from  her  youth  upwards,  had  impressed  upon  her  ;  but  her 
heart  continued  open  to  all  tender  feelings.  And  as  neigh- 
bor Franz  was  the  first  youth  who  had  awakened  these 
slumbering  emotions,  she  took   a  certain   pleasure   in  him, 


DUMB    LOVE.  31 

which  she  scarcely  owned  to  herself,  but  which  any  less 
unexperienced  maiden  would  have  recognised  as  love.  It 
was  for  this  that  her  departure  from  the  narrow  lane  had 
gone  so  near  her  heart;  for  this  that  the  little  tear  had 
trickled  from  her  beautiful  eyes ;  for  this,  that,  when  the 
watchful  Franz  saluted  her  as  she  came  from  church,  she 
thanked  him  so  kindly,  and  grew  scarlet  to  the  ears. 
The  lovers  had  in  truth  never  spoken  any  word  to  one 
another  ;  but  he  understood  her,  and  she  him,  so  perfectly, 
that  in  the  most  secret  interview  they  could  not  have  ex- 
plained themselves  more  clearly  ;  and  both  contracting  par- 
ties swore  in  their  silent  hearts,  each  for  himself,  under  the 
seal  of  secrecy,  the  oath  of  faithfulness  to  the  other. 

In  the  quarter  where  Mother  Brigitta  had  now  settled, 
there  were  likewise  neighbors,  and  among  these  likewise 
girl-spiers,  whom  the  beauty  of  the  charming  Meta  had  not 
escaped.  Right  opposite  their  dwelling  lived  a  wealthy 
brewer,  whom  the  wags  of  the  part,  as  he  was  strong  in 
means,  had  named  the  Hop-King.  He  was  a  young,  stout 
widower,  whose  mourning  year  was  just  concluding,  so  that 
now  he  was  entitled,  without  offending  the  precepts  of  de- 
corum, to  look  about  him  elsewhere  for  a  new  helpmate  to 
his  household.  Shortly  after  the  departure  of  his  whilom 
wife,  he  had  in  secret  entered  into  an  engagement  with  his 
Patron  Saint,  St.  Christopher,  to  offer  him  a  wax-taper  as 
long  as  a  hop-pole,  and  as  thick  as  a  mashing-beam,  if  he 
would  vouchsafe  in  this  second  choice  to  prosper  the  desire 
of  his  heart.  Scarcely  had  he  seen  the  dainty  Meta,  when 
lie  dreamed  that  St.  Christopher  looked  in  upon  him,  through 
the  window  of  his  bed-room  in  the  second   story,*  and  de- 

*  St.  Christopher  never  appears  to  his  favorites,  like  the  other 
Saints,  in  a  solitary  room  encircled  with  a  glory;  there  is  no 
room  high  enough  to  admit  him ;   thus  the  celestial  Son  of  Anak 


32  MUSAEUS. 

manded  payment  of  his  debt.  To  the  quick  widower  this 
seemed  a  heavenly  call  to  cast  out  the  net  without  delay. 
Early  in  the  morning  he  sent  for  the  brokers  of  the  town, 
and  commissioned  them  to  buy  bleached  wax  ;  then  decked 
himself  like  a  Syndic,  and  set  forth  to  expedite  his  marriage 
speculation.  He  had  no  musical  talents,  and  in  the  secret 
symbolic  language  of  love  he  was  no  better  than  a  block- 
head ;  but  he  had  a  rich  brewery,  a  solid  mortgage  on  the 
city-revenues,  a  ship  on  the  Weser,  and  a  farm  without  the 
gates.  With  such  recommendations,  he  might  have  reckoned 
on  a  prosperous  issue  to  his  courtship,  independently  of 
nil  assistance  from  St.  Kit,  especially  as  his  bride  was  with- 
out dowry. 

According  to  old  use  and  wont,  he  went  directly  to  the 
master  hand,  and  disclosed  to  the  mother,  in  a  kind  neigh- 
borly way,  his  christian  intentions  towards  her  virtuous  and 
honorable  daughter.  No  angel's  visit  could  have  charmed 
the  good  lady  more  than  these  glad  tidings.  She  now  saw 
ripening  before  her  the  fruit  of  her  prudent  scheme,  and  the 
fulfilment  of  her  hope  again  to  emerge  from  her  present 
poverty  into  her  former  abundance  ;  she  blessed  the  good 
thought  of  moving  from  the  crooked  alley,  and  in  the  first 
ebullition  of  her  joy,  as  a  thousand  gay  ideas  were  ranking 
themselves  up  within  her  soul,  she  also  thought  of  neighbor 
Franz,  who  had  given  occasion  to  it.  Though  Franz  was  not 
exactly  her  bosom-youth,  she  silently  resolved  to  gladden 
him,  as  the  accidental  instrument  of  her  rising  star,  with 
some  secret  gift  or  other,  and  by  this  means  likewise 
recompense  his  well-intended  flax-dealing. 

In  the  maternal  heart  the  marriage-articles  were  as  good 
as  signed  ;  but  decorum  did  not  permit  these  rash  proceed- 

is  obliged  to  transact  all  business  with  his  warcte  outside  the  win- 
dow. 


DUMB    LOVE.  33 

ings  in  a  matter  of  such  moment.  She  therefore  let  the 
motion  lie  ad  referendum,  to  be  considered  by  her  daughter 
and  herself;  and  appointed  a  term  of  eight  days,  after 
which  "  she  hoped  she  should  have  it  in  her  power  to  give 
the  much-respected  suitor  a  reply  that  would  satisfy  him  ;  " 
all  which,  as  the  common  manner  of  proceeding,  he  took  in 
good  part,  and  with  his  usual  civilities  withdrew.  No 
sooner  had  he  turned  his  back,  than  spinning-wheel  and 
reel,  swingling-stake  and  hatchel,  without  regard  being  paid 
to  their  faithful  services,  and  without  accusation  being 
lodged  against  them,  were  consigned,  like  some  luckless 
Parliament  of  Paris,  to  disgrace,  and  dismissed  as  useless 
implements  into  the  lumber-room.  On  returning  from 
mass,  Meta  was  astonished  at  the  sudden  catastrophe  which 
Jiad  occurred  in  the  apartment ;  it  was  all  decked  out  as 
On  one  of  the  three  high  Festivals  of  the  year.  She  could 
not  understand  how  her  thrifty  mother,  on  a  work-day,  had 
so  neglectfully  put  her  active  hand  in  her  bosom  ;  but  be- 
fore she  had  time  to  question  the  kindly-smiling  dame  con- 
cerning this  reform  in  household  affairs,  she  was  favored  by 
the  latter  with  an  explanation  of  the  riddle.  Persuasion 
rested  on  Brigitta's  tongue  ;  and  there  flowed  from  her  lips 
a  stream  of  female  eloquence,  depicting  the  offered  happi- 
ness in  the  liveliest  hues  which  her  imagination  could  lay 
on.  She  expected  from  the  chaste  Meta  the  blush  of  soft 
virgin  bashfulness,  which  announces  the  noviciate  in  love  ; 
and  then  a  full  resignation  of  herself  to  the  maternal  will. 
For  of  old,  in  proposals  of  marriage,  daughters  were  situ- 
ated as  our  princesses  are  still  ;  they  were  not  asked  about 
their  inclination,  and  had  no  voice  in  the  selection  of  their 
legal  helpmate,  save  the  Yes  before  the  altar. 

But  Mother  Brigitta  was  in  this  point  widely  mistaken  ; 
the  fair  Meta  did  not  at  the  unexpected  announcement  grow 
red  as  a  rose,  but  pale  as  ashes.     An  hysterical  giddiness 


34  MUSAEUS. 

swam  over  her  brain,  and  she  sank  fainting  in  her  mother's 
arms.  When  her  senses  were  recalled  by  the  sprinkling  of 
cold  water,  and  she  had  in  some  degree  recovered  strength, 
her  eyes  overflowed  with  tears,  as  if  a  heavy  misfortune  had 
befallen  her.  From  all  these  symptoms,  the  sagacious  moth- 
er easily  perceived  that  the  marriage-trade  was  not  to  her 
taste  ;  at  which  she  wondered  not  a  little,  sparing  neither 
prayers  nor  admonitions  to  her  daughter  to  secure  her  hap- 
piness by  this  good  match,  not  flout  it  from  her  by  caprice 
and  contradiction.  But  Meta  could  not  be  persuaded  that 
her  happiness  depended  on  a  match  to  which  her  heart 
gave  no  assent.  The  debates  between  the  mother  and  the 
daughter  lasted  several  days,  from  early  morning  to  late 
night ;  the  term  for  decision  was  approaching ;  the  sacred 
taper  for  St.  Christopher,  which  Og,  King  of  Bashan,need  not 
have  disdained,  had  it  been  lit  for  him  as  a  marriage 
torch  at  his  espousals,  stood  in  readiness,  all  beautifully 
painted  with  living  flowers  like  a  many-colored  light, 
though  the  Saint  had  all  the  while  been  so  inactive  in  his 
client's  cause,  that  the  fair  Meta's  heart  was  still  bolted  and 
barred  against  him  fast  as  ever. 

Meanwhile  she  had  bleared  her  eyes  with  weeping,  and 
the  maternal  rhetoric  had  worked  so  powerfully,  that,  like  a 
flower  in  the  sultry  heat,  she  was  drooping  together,  and 
visibly  fading  away.  Hidden  grief  was  gnawing  at  her 
heart ;  she  had  prescribed  herself  a  rigorous  fast,  and  for 
three  days  no  morsel  had  she  eaten,  and  with  no  drop  of 
water  moistened  her  parched  lips.  By  night  sleep  never 
visited  her  eyes  ;  and  with  all  this  she  grew  sick  to  death, 
and  began  to  talk  about  extreme  unction.  As  the  tender 
mother  saw  the  pillar  of  her  hope  wavering,  and  bethought 
herself  that  she  might  lose  both  capital  and  interest  at  once, 
she  found,  on  accurate  consideration,  that  it  would  be  more 
advisable  to   let  the  latter  vanish,  than  to  miss  them  both  ; 


DUMB    LOVE.  35 

and  with  kindly  indulgence  plied  into  the  daughter's  will. 
It  cost  her  much  constraint,  indeed,  and  many  hard  battles, 
to  turn  away  so  advantageous  an  offer  ;  yet  at  last,  accord- 
ing to  established  order  in  household  governments,  she 
yielded  unconditionally  to  the  inclination  of  her  child,  and 
remonstrated  no  more  with  her  beloved  patient  on  the 
subject.  As  the  stout  widower  announced  himself  on  the 
appointed  day,  in  the  full  trust  that  his  heavenly  deputy  had 
arranged  it  all  according  to  his  wish,  he  received,  quite  un- 
expectedly, a  negative  answer,  which,  however,  was  sweet- 
ened with  such  a  deal  of  blandishment,  that  he  swallowed 
it  like  wine-of-wormwood  mixed  with  sugar.  For  the  rest, 
he  easily  accommodated  himself  to  his  destiny  ;  and  dis- 
composed himself  no  more  about  it,  than  if  some  bargain  for 
a  ton  of  malt  had  chanced  to  come  to  nothing.  Nor,  on 
the  whole,  had  he  any  cause  to  sorrow  without  hope.  His 
native  town  has  never  wanted  amiable  daughters,  who  come 
up  to  the  Solomonic  sketch,  and  are  ready  to  make  perfect 
spouses ;  besides,  notwithstanding  this  unprospered  court- 
ship, he  depended  with  firm  confidence  upon  his  Patron 
Saint ;  who  in  fact  did  him  such  substantial  service  else- 
where, that,  ere  a  month  elapsed,  he  had  planted,  with  much 
pomp,  his  devoted  taper  at  the  friendly  shrine. 

Mother  Brigitta  was  now  fain  to  recall  the  exiled  spin- 
ning-tackle from  its  lumber-room,  and  again  set  it  in  action. 
All  once  more  went  its  usual  course.  Meta  soon  bloomed 
out  anew,  was  active  in  business,  and  diligently  went  to 
mass ;  but  the  mother  could  not  hide  her  secret  grudging 
at  the  failure  of  her  hopes,  and  the  annihilation  of  her 
darling  plan ;  she  was  splenetic,  peevish,  and  dejected. 
Her  ill-humor  had  especially  the  upper  hand  that  day  when 
neighbor  Hop-King  held  his  nuptials.  As  the  wedding-com- 
pany proceeded  to  the  church,  with  the  town-band  bedrum- 
ming  and   becymballing  them   in  the  van,  she  whimpered 


36 


MUSAEUS. 


and  sobbed  as  in  the  evil  hour  when  the  JobVnews  reached 
her,  that  the  wild  sea  had  devoured  her  husband,  with  ship 
and  fortune.  Meta  looked  at  the  bridal-pomp  with  great 
equanimity  ;  even  the  royal  ornaments,  the  jewels  in  the 
myrtle-crown,  and  the  nine  strings  of  true  pearls  about  the 
neck  of  the  bride,  made  no  impression  on  her  peace  of 
mind  ;  a  circumstance  in  some  degree  surprising,  since  a 
new  Paris  cap,  or  any  other  meteor  in  the  gallery  of  Mode, 
will  so  frequently  derange  the  contentment  and  domestic 
peace  of  an  entire  parish.  Nothing  but  the  heart-consum- 
ing sorrow  of  her  mother  discomposed  her,  and  overclouded 
the  gay  look  of  her  eyes ;  she  strove  by  a  thousand  caresses 
and  little  attentions  to  work  herself  into  favor;  and  she  so 
far  succeeded,  that  the  good  lady  grew  a  little  more  com- 
municative. 

In  the  evening,  when  the  wedding-dance  began,  she  said, 
"  Ah,  child  !  this  merry  dance  it  might  have  been  thy  part 
to  lead  off.  What  a  pleasure,  hadst  thou  recompensed  thy 
mother's  care  and  toil  with  this  joy  !  But  thou  hast  mocked 
thy  happiness,  and  now  I  shall  never  see  the  day  when  I  am 
to  attend  thee  to  the  altar."  —  "  Dear  mother,"  answered 
Meta,  "I  confide  in  Heaven  ;  and  if  it  is  written  above  that 
I  am  to  be  led  to  the  altar,  you  will  surely  deck  my  garland  ; 
for  when  the  right  wooer  comes,  my  heart  will  soon  say 
Yes." — "  Child,  for  girls  without  dowry  there  is  no  press 
of  wooers  ;  they  are  heavy  ware  to  trade  with.  Now-a-days 
the  bachelors  are  mighty  stingy  ;  they  court  to  be  happy, 
not  to  make  happy.  Besides,  thy  planet  bodes  thee  no 
good  ;  thou  wert  born  in  April.  Let  us  see  how  it  is  writ- 
ten in  the  Calendar  :  '  A  damsel  born  in  this  month  is  comely 
of  countenance,  slender  of  shape,  but  of  changeful  humor, 
has  a  liking  to  men.  Should  have  an  eye  upon  her*maiden 
garland,  and  so  a  laughing  wooer  come,  not  miss  her  for- 
tune.'    Alas,  it  answers  to  a   hair  !     The  wooer  has  been 


DUMB    LOVE. 


37 


here,  comes  not  again  ;  thou  hast  missed  him."  — t;  Ah, 
mother  !  let  the  planet  say  its  pleasure,  never  mind  it ;  my 
heart  says  to  me  that  I  should  love  and  honor  the  man 
who  asks  me  to  be  his  wife ;  and  if  I  do  not  find  that 
man,  or  he  do  not  seek  me,  I  will  live  in  good  courage  by 
the  labor  of  my  hands,  and  stand  by  you,  and  nurse  you  in 
your  old  age,  as  beseems  a  good  daughter.  But  if  the  man 
of  my  heart  do  come,  then  bless  my  choice,  that  it  may  be 
well  with  your  daughter  on  the  earth  ;  and  ask  not  whether 
he  is  noble,  rich,  or  famous,  but  whether  he  is  good  and 
honest,  whether  he  loves  and  is  loved."  —  "  Ah,  daughter  ! 
Love  keeps  a  sorry  kitchen,  and  feeds  one  poorly,  along 
with  bread  and  salt."  —  '*  But  yet  Unity  and  Contentment 
delight  to  dwell  with  him,  and  these  season  bread  and  salt 
with  the  cheerful  enjoyment  of  our  days." 

The  pregnant  subject  of  bread  and  salt  continued  to  be 
sifted  till  the  night  was  far  spent,  and  the  last  fiddle  in  the 
wedding-dance  was  resting  from  its  labors.  The  moderation 
of  the  prudent  Meta,  who,  with  youth  and  beauty  on  her 
side,  pretended  only  to  an  altogether  bounded  happiness,  after 
having  turned  away  an  advantageous  offer,  led  the  mother 
to  conjecture  that  the  plan  of  some  such  salt-trade  might 
already  have  been  sketched  in  the  heart  of  the  virgin.  Nor 
did  she  fail  to  guess  the  trading-partner  in  the  lane,  of  whom 
she  never  had  believed  that  he  would  be  the  tree  for  rooting 
in  the  lovely  Meta's  heart.  She  had  looked  upon  him  only 
as  a  wild  tendril  that  stretches  out  towards  every  neighbor- 
ing twig,  to  clamber  up  by  means  of  it.  This  discovery 
procured  her  little  joy  ;  but  she  gave  no  hint  that  she  had 
made  it.  Only,  in  the  spirit  of  her  rigorous  morality,  she 
compared  a  maiden  who  lets  love,  before  the  priestly  bene- 
diction, nestle  in  her  heart,  to  a  worm-eaten  apple,  which  is 
good  for  the  eye,  but  no  longer  for  the  palate,  and  is  laid 
upon  a  shelf  and  no  more   heeded,  for   the  pernicious  worm 

vol.  i.  4 


38 


MUSAEUS. 


is  eating  its  internal  marrow,  and  cannot  be  dislodged.  She 
now  despaired  of  ever  holding  up  her  head  again  in  Bre- 
men ;  submitted  to  her  fate,  and  bore  in  silence  what  she 
thought  was  now  not  to  be  altered. 

Meanwhile  the  rumor  of  the  proud  Meta's  having  given 
the  rich  Hop-King  the  basket  spread  over  the  town,  and 
sounded  even  into  Franz's  garret  in  the  alley.  Franz 
was  transported  with  joy  to  hear  this  tale  confirmed  ;  and 
the  secret  anxiety  lest  some  wealthy  rival  might  expel  him 
from  the  dear  maiden's  heart  tormented  him  no  more.  He 
was  now  certain  of  his  object  ;  and  the  riddle,  which  for 
every  one  continued  an  insoluble  problem,  had  no  mystery 
for  him.  Love  had  already  changed  a  spendthrift  into  a 
dilettante  ;  but  this  for  a  bride-seeker  was  the  very  smallest 
of  recommendations,  a  gift  which  in  those  rude  times  was 
rewarded  neither  with  such  praise  nor  with  such  pudding 
as  it  is  in  our  luxurious  century.  The  fine  arts  were  not 
then  children  of  superfluity,  but  of  want  and  necessity.  No 
travelling  professors  were  at  that  time  known,  save  the 
Prague  students,  whose  squeaking  symphonies  solicited  a 
charitable  coin  at  the  doors  of  the  rich.  The  beloved  maid- 
en's sacrifice  was  too  great  to  be  repaid  by  a  serenade.  And 
now  the  feeling  of  his  youthful  dissipation  became  a  thorn 
in  the  soul  of  Franz.  Many  a  touching  monodrama  did  he 
begin  with  an  O  and  an  Ah,  besighing  his  past  madness. 
"  Ah,  Meta,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  why  did  I  not  know  thee 
sooner!  Thou  hadst  then  been  my  guardian  angel,  thou 
hadst  saved  me  from  destruction.  Could  I  live  my  lost 
years  over  again,  and  be  what  I  was,  the  world  were  now 
Elysium  for  me,  and  for  thee  I  would  make  it  an  Eden  ! 
Noble  maiden,  thou  sacrificest  thyself  to  a  wretch,  to  a 
beggar,  who  has  nothing  in  the  world  but  a  heart  full  of 
love,  and  despair  that  he  can  offer  thee  no  happiness  such 
as  thou  deservest."     Innumerable  times,  in  the   paroxysms 


DUMB    LOVE. 


39 


of  these  pathetic  humors,  he  struck  his  brow  in  fury,  with 
the  repentant  exclamation  :  "  O  fool !  O  madman  !  thou  art 
wise  too  late." 

Love,  however,  did  not  leave  its  working  incomplete.  It 
had  already  brought  about  a  wholesome  fermentation  in  his 
spirit,  a  desire  to  put  in  use  his  powers  and  activity,  to  try 
if  he  might  struggle  up  from  his  present  nothingness ;  it 
now  incited  him  to  the  attempt  of  executing  these  good 
purposes.  Among  many  speculations  he  had  entertained  for 
the  recruiting  of  his  wrecked  finances,  the  most  rational  and 
promising  was  this  :  to  run  over  his  father's  ledgers,  and 
there  note  down  any  small  escheats  which  had  been  marked 
as  lost,  with  a  view  of  going  through  the  land,  and  gleaning, 
if  so  were  that  a  lock  of  wheat  might  still  be  gathered 
from  these  neglected  ears.  With  the  produce  of  this  enter- 
prise he  would  then  commence  some  little  traffic,  which 
his  fancy  soon  extended  over  all  the  quarters  of  the  world. 
Already,  in  his  mind's  eye,  he  had  vessels  on  the  sea,  which 
were  freighted  with  his  property.  He  proceeded  rapidly 
to  execute  his  purpose ;  changed  the  last  golden  fragment 
of  his  heritage,  his  father's  hour-egg,*  into  money,  and 
bought  with  it  a  riding  nag,  which  was  to  bear  him  as  a 
Bremen  merchant  out  into  the  wide  world. 

Yet  the  parting  with  his  fair  Meta  went  sore  against  his 
heart.  "  What  will  she  think,"  said  he  to  himself,  "of  this 
sudden  disappearance,  when  thou  shalt  no  more  meet  her  in 
the  church-way  ?  Will  she  not  regard  thee  as  faithless, 
and  banish  thee  from  her  heart  ?  "  This  thought  afflicted 
him  exceedingly  ;  and  for  a  great  while  he  could  think  of 
no  expedient  for  explaining  to  her  his  intention.  But  at 
last    inventive   Love  suggested  the    idea    of  signifying   to 

*  The  oldest  watches,  from  the  shape  they  had,  were  named 
hour-eggs. 


40 


MUSAEUS. 


her  from  the  pulpit  itself  his  absence  and  its  purpose.  With 
this  view,  in  the  church,  which  had  already  favored  the 
secret  understanding  of  the  lovers,  he  bought  a  Prayer  "  for 
a  young  Traveller,  and  the  happy  arrangement  of  his 
affairs  ; "  which  was  to  last  till  he  should  come  again  and 
pay  his  groschen  for  the  Thanksgiving. 

At  the  last  meeting,  he  had  dressed  himself  as  for  the 
road  ;  he  passed  quite  near  his  sweetheart  ;  saluted  her  ex- 
pressively, and  with  less  reserve  than  before ;  so  that  she 
blushed  deeply  ;  and  Mother  Brigitta  found  opportunity  for 
various  marginal  notes,  which  indicated  her  displeasure  at 
the  boldness  of  this  ill-bred  fop,  in  attempting  to  get  speech 
of  her  daughter,  and  with  which  she  entertained  the  latter 
not  in  the  most  pleasant  style  the  live-long  day.  From  that 
morning  Franz  was  no  more  seen  in  Bremen,  and  the  finest 
pair  of  eyes  within  its  circuit  sought  for  him  in  vain.  Meta 
often  heard  the  Prayer  read,  but  she  did  not  heed  it,  for  her 
heart  was  troubled  because  her  lover  had  become  invisible. 
This  disappearance  was  inexplicable  to  her;  she  knew  not 
what  to  think  of  it.  After  the  lapse  of  some  months,  when 
time  had  a  little  softened  her  secret  care,  and  she  was  suf- 
fering his  absence  with  a  calmer  mind,  it  happened  once,  as 
the  last  appearance  of  her  love  was  hovering  upon  her 
fancy,  that  this  same  Prayer  struck  her  as  a  strange  matter. 
She  coupled  one  thing  with  another,  she  guessed  the  true 
connexion  of  the  business,  and  the  meaning  of  that  notice. 
And  although  church  litanies  and  special  prayers  have  not 
the  reputation  of  extreme  potency,  and  for  the  worthy  souls 
that  lean  on  them  are  but  a  supple  staff,  inasmuch  as  the 
fire  of  devotion  in  the  Christian  flock  is  wont  to  die  out  at 
the  end  of  the  sermon  ;  yet  in  the  pious  Meta's  case,  the 
reading  of  the  last  Prayer  was  the  very  thing  which  fanned 
that  fire  into  a  flame  ;  and  she  never  neglected,  with  her 
whole  heart,  to  recommend  the  young  traveller  to  his  guard- 
ian angel. 


DUMB    LOVE. 


41 


Under  this  invisible  guidance,  Franz  was  journeying 
towards  Brabant,  to  call  in  some  considerable  sums  that 
were  due  him  at  Antwerp.  A  journey  from  Bremen  to 
Antwerp,  in  the  time  when  road-blockades  were  still  in 
fashion,  and  every  landlord  thought  himself  entitled  to 
plunder  any  traveller  who  had  purchased  no  safe-conduct, 
and  to  leave  him  pining  in  the  ward-room  of  his  tower, 
was  an  undertaking  of  more  peril  and  difficulty,  than  in 
our  days  would  attend  a  journey  from  Bremen  to  Kamt- 
schatka ;  for  the  Landfried  (or  Act  for  suppressing  Private 
Wars),  which  the  Emperor  Maximilian  had  proclaimed, 
was  in  force  through  the  Empire  rather  as  a  law  than  an 
observance.  Nevertheless  our  solitary  traveller  succeeded 
in  arriving  at  the  goal  of  his  pilgrimage,  without  encoun- 
tering more  than  a  single  adventure. 

Far  in  the  wastes  of  Westphalia,  he  rode  one  sultry  day 
till  nightfall,  without  reaching  any  inn.  Towards  evening 
stormy  clouds  towered  up  at  the  horizon,  and  a  heavy 
rain  wetted  him  to  the  skin.  To  the  fondling,  who  from 
his  youth  had  been  accustomed  to  all  possible  conveniencies, 
this  was  a  heavy  matter,  and  he  felt  himself  in  great  em- 
barrassment how  in  this  condition  he  should  pass  the  night. 
To  his  comfort,  when  the  tempest  had  moved  away,  he 
saw  a  light  in  the  distance  ;  and  soon  after,  reached  a  mean 
peasant  hovel,  which  afforded  him  but  little  consolation. 
The  house  was  more  like  a  cattle-stall  than  a  human  hab- 
itation ;  and  the  unfriendly  landlord  refused  him  fire  and 
water,  as  if  he  had  been  an  outlaw.  For  the  man  was 
just  about  to  stretch  himself  upon  the  straw  among  his 
steers  ;  and  too  tired  to  relight  the  fire  on  his  hearth,  for 
the  sake  of  a  stranger.  Franz  in  his  despondency  uplifted 
a  mournful  miserere,  and  cursed  the  Westphalian  steppes 
with  strong  maledictions;  but  the  peasant  took  it  all  in 
good  part ;  and  blew  out  his  light  with  great  composure, 
4* 


42 


MUSAEUS. 


troubling  himself  no  farther  about  the  stranger;  for  in  the 
laws  of  hospitality  he  was  altogether  uninstructed.  But 
as  the  wayfarer,  standing  at  the  door,  would  not  cease 
to  annoy  him  with  his  lamentations,  he  endeavored  in 
a  civil  way  to  get  rid  of  him,  consented  to  answer,  and 
said  :  "  Master,  if  you  want  good  entertainment,  and  would 
treat  yourself  handsomely,  you  could  not  find  what  you 
are  seeking  here.  But  ride  thereto  the  left  hand,  through  the 
bushes;  a  little  way  behind,  lies  the  Castle  of  the  valiant 
Eberhard  Bronkhorst,  a  knight  who  lodges  every  traveller, 
as  a  Hospitaller  does  the  pilgrims  from  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 
Ho  has  just  one  maggot  in  his  head,  which  sometimes 
twitches  and  vexes  him  ;  he  lets  no  traveller  depart  from 
him  unbasted.  If  you  do  not  lose  your  way,  though  he 
may  dust  your  jacket,  you  will  like  your  cheer  prodig- 
iously." 

To  buy  a  mess  of  pottage,  and  a  stoop  of  wine,  by 
surrendering  one's  ribs  to  the  bastinado,  is  in  truth  no  job 
for  every  man,  though  your  spungers  and  plate-lickers  let 
themselves  be  tweaked  and  snubbed,  and  from  rich  artists 
willingly  endure  all  kinds  of  tar-and-feathering,  so  their 
palates  be  but  tickled  for  the  service.  Franz  considered 
for  a  while,  and  was  undetermined  what  to  do  ;  at  last  he 
resolved  on  fronting  the  adventure.  "  What  is  it  to  me," 
said  he,  "  whether  my  back  be  broken  here  on  miserable 
straw,  or  by  the  Ritter  Bronkhorst?  The  friction  will  ex- 
pel the  fever  which  is  coming  on,  and  shake  me  tightly  if 
I  cannot  dry  my  clothes."  He  put  spurs  to  his  nag,  and 
soon  arrived  before  a  castle-gate  of  old  Gothic  architecture  ; 
knocked  pretty  plainly  on  the  iron  door,  and  an  equally 
distinct  "  Who's  there?"  resounded  from  within.  To  the 
freezing  passenger,  the  long  entrance  ceremonial  of  this 
door-keeper  precognition  was  as  inconvenient  as  are  sim- 
ilar delays  to  travellers  who,  at  barriers  and  gates  of  towns , 


DUMB    LOVE. 


43 


bewail  or  execrate  the  despotism  of  guards  and  tollmen. 
Nevertheless  he  must  submit  to  use  and  wont,  and  patiently 
wait  to  see  whether  the  philanthropist  in  the  Castle  was 
disposed  that  night  for  cudgelling  a  guest,  or  would  choose 
rather  to  assign  him  a  couch  under  the  open  canopy. 

The  possessor  of  this  ancient  tower  had  served,  in  his 
youth,  as  a  stout  soldier  in  the  Emperor's  army,  under 
the  bold  Georg  von  Fronsberg,  and  led  a  troop  of  foot 
against  the  Venetians;  had  afterwards  retired  to  repose, 
and  was  now  living  on  his  property ;  where,  to  expiate 
the  sins  of  his  campaigns,  he  employed  himself  in  doing 
good  works;  in  feeding  the  hungry,  giving  drink  to  the 
thirsty,  lodging  pilgrims,  and  cudgelling  his  lodgers  out 
of  doors.  For  he  was  a  rude,  wild  son  of  war ;  and  could 
not  lay  aside  his  martial  tone,  though  he  had  lived  for 
many  years  in  silent  peace.  The  traveller,  who  had  now 
determined  for  good  quarters  to  submit  to  the  custom  of 
the  house,  had  not  waited  long  till  the  bolts  and  locks  began 
rattling  within,  and  the  creaking  gate-leaves  moved  asunder, 
moaning  in  doleful  notes,  as  if  to  warn  or  to  deplore  the 
entering  stranger.  Franz  felt  one  cold  shudder  after  the 
other  running  down  his  back,  as  he  passed  in ;  nevertheless 
he  was  handsomely  received  ;  some  servants  hastened  to 
assist  him  in  dismounting,  speedily  unbuckled  his  luggage, 
took  his  steed  to  the  stable,  and  its  rider  to  a  large,  well- 
lighted  chamber,  where  their  master  was  in  waiting. 
'■,  The  warlike  aspect  of  this  athletic  gentleman,  —  who 
advanced  to  meet  his  guest,  and  shook  him  by  the  hand 
so  heartily  that  he  was  like  to  shout  with  pain,  and  bade 
him  welcome  with  a  Stentor's  voice,  as  if  the  stranger  had 
been  deaf,  and  seemed  withal  to  be  a  person  still  in  the 
vigor  of  life,  full  of  fire  and  strength, —  put  the  timorous 
wanderer  into  such  a  terror  that  he  could  not  hide  his 
apprehensions,  and  began  to  tremble  over  all  his  body. 


44  MUSAEUS. 

"  Wliat  ails  you,  my  young  master,"  asked  the  Ritter, 
with  a  voice  of  thunder,  "  that  you  quiver  like  an  aspen 
leaf,  and  look  as  pale  as  if  Death  had  you   by  the  throat  ?  " 

Franz  plucked  up  a  spirit ;  and  considering  that  his 
shoulders  had  at  all  events  the  score  to  pay,  his  poltroonery 
passed  into  a  species  of  audacity. 

"Sir,"  replied  he,  "you  perceive  that  the  rain  has  soaked 
me,  as  if  I  had  swum  across  the  Weser.  Let  me  have  my 
clothes  dried  or  changed  ;  and  get  me,  by  way  of  luncheon, 
a  well-spiced  aleberry,  to  drive  away  the  ague-fit  that  is 
quaking  through  my  nerves;  then  I  shall  come  to  heart, 
in  some  degree." 

"  Good  !"  replied  the  Knight ;  "  demand  what  you  want ; 
you  are  at  home  here." 

Franz  made  himself  be  served  like  a  bashaw;  and  having 
nothing  else  but  currying  to  expect,  he  determined  to  de- 
serve it;  he  bantered  and  bullied,  in  his  most  imperious 
style,  the  servants  that  were  waiting  on  him  ;  it  comes  all 
to  one,  thought  he,  in  the  long  run.  "  This  waistcoat,"  said 
he,  "  would  go  round  a  tun  ;  bring  me  one  that  fits  a  little 
belter ;  this  slipper  burns  like  a  coal  against  my  corns, 
pitch  it  over  the  lists ;  this  ruff  is  stiff  as  a  plank,  and 
throttles  me  like  a  halter;  bring  one  that  is  easier,  and  is 
not  plastered  with  starch." 

At  this  Bremish  frankness,  the  landlord,  far  from  show- 
ing any  anger,  kept  inciting  his  servants  to  go  briskly 
through  with  their  commands,  and  calling  them  a  pack  of 
blockheads,  who  were  fit  to  serve  no  stranger.  The  table 
being  furnished,  the  Hitter  and  his  guest  sat  down  to  it, 
and  both  heartily  enjoyed  their  aleberry.  The  Ritter  asked, 
"  Would  you  have  aught  farther,  by  way  of  supper  ?  " 

"  Bring  us  what  you  have,"  said  Franz,  "  that  I  may  see 
how  your  kitchen  is  provided." 

Immediately   appeared   the   Cook,  and   placed   upon   the 


DUMB    LOVE.  45 

table  a  repast  with  which  a  duke  might  have  been  satisfied. 
Franz  diligently  fell  to,  without  waiting  to  be  pressed.  When 
he  had  satisfied  himself,  "Your  kitchen,"  said  he,  "is  not 
ill  furnished,  I  perceive ;  if  your  cellar  corresponds  to  it, 
I  shall  almost  praise  your  house-keeping." 

Bronkhorst  nodded  to  his  Butler,  who  directly  filled  the 
cup  of  welcome  with  common  table  wine,  tasted,  and  pre- 
sented it  to  his  master,  and  the  latter  cleared  it  at  a  draught 
to  the  health  of  his  guest.  Franz  pledged  him  honestly, 
and  Bronkhorst  asked,  "  Now,  fair  sir,  what  say  you  to 
the  wine  ?  " 

"  I  say,n  answered  Franz,  "  that  it  is  bad,  if  it  is  the  best 
sort  in  your  catacombs  ;  and  good,  if  it  is  your  meanest 
number." 

"  You  are  a  judge,"  replied  the  Hitter.  "  Here,  Butler, 
bring  us  of  the  mother-cask." 

The  Butler  put  a  stoop  upon  the  table,  as  a  sample,  and 
Franz,  having  tasted  it,  said,  "Ay,  this  is  genuine  last  year's 
growth  ;  we  will  stick  by  this." 

The  Hitter  made  a  vast  pitcher  of  it  be  brought  in  ;  soon 
drank  himself  into  hilarity  and  glee  beside  his  guest ;  began 
to  talk  of  his  campaigns,  how  he  had  been  encamped 
against  the  Venetians,  had  broken  through  their  barricado, 
and  butchered  the  Italian  squadrons,  like  a  flock  of  sheep. 
In  this  narrative  he  rose  into  such  a  warlike  enthusiasm, 
that  he  hewed  down  bottles  and  glasses,  brandishing  the 
carving-knife  like  a  lance,  and  in  the  fire  of  action  came 
so  near  his  messmate  with  it,  that  the  latter  was  in  fright 
for  his  nose  and  ears. 

It  grew  late,  but  no  sleep  came  into  the  eyes  of  the 
Ritter;  he  seemed  to  be  in  his  proper  element,  when  he 
got  to  speak  of  his  Venetian  campaigns.  The  vivacity^of 
his  narration  increased  with  every  cup  he  emptied ;  and 
Franz  was  afraid  that  this  would  prove  the  prologue  to  the 


46 


MUSAEUS. 


melodrama,  in  which  he  himself  was  to  play  the  most 
interesting  part.  To  learn  whether  it  was  meant  that  he 
should  lodge  within  the  Castle,  or  without,  he  demanded  a 
bumper  by  way  of  good-night.  Now,  he  thought,  his  host 
would  first  force  him  to  drink  more  wine,  and  if  he  refused, 
would,  under  pretext  of  a  drinking  quarrel,  send  him  forth, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  house,  with  the  usual  viati- 
cum. Contrary  to  his  expectation,  the  request  was  granted 
without  remonstrance;  the  Ritter  instantly  cut  asunder  the 
thread  of  his  narrative,  and  said,  "  Time  will  wait  on  no 
one  ;  more  of  it  to-morrow  !  " 

"  Pardon  me,  Herr  Ritter,"  answered  Franz,  "  to-morrow 
by  sunrise  I  must  over  hill  and  dale;  I  am  travelling  a  far 
journey  to  Brabant,  and  must  not  linger  here.  So  let  me 
take  leave  of  you  to-night,  that  my  departure  may  not 
disturb  you  in  the  morning." 

"Do  your  pleasure,"  said  the  Ritter;  "but  depart  from 
this  you  shall  not,  till  I  am  out  of  the  feathers,  to  refresh 
you  with  a  bit  of  bread,  and  a  toothful  of  Dantzig,  then 
attend  you  to  the  door,  and  dismiss  you  according  to  the 
fashion  of  the  house." 

Franz  needed  no  interpretation  of  these  words.  Will- 
ingly as  he  would  have  excused  his  host  this  last  civility, 
attendance  to  the  door,  the  latter  seemed  determined  to 
abate  no  whit  of  the  established  ritual.  He  ordered  his 
servants  to  undress  the  stranger,  and  put  him  in  the  guest's- 
bed  ;  where  Franz,  once  settled  on  elastic  swan's-down, 
felt  himself  extremely  snug,  and  enjoyed  delicious  rest ;  so 
that,  ere  he  fell  asleep,  he  owned  to  himself  that,  for  such 
royal  treatment,  a  moderate  bastinado  was  not  too  dear  a 
price.  Soon  pleasant  dreams  came  hovering  round  his 
fancy.  He  found  his  charming  Meta  in  a  rosy  grove,  where 
she  was  walking  with  her  mother,  plucking  flowers.  In- 
stantly he  hid  himself  behind  a  thick-leaved  hedge,  that  the 


DUMB    LOVE.  47 

rigorous  duenna  might  not  see  him.  Again  his  imagination 
placed  him  in  the  alley,  and  by  his  looking-glass  he  saw  the 
snow-white  hand  of  the  maiden  busied  with  her  flowers  ; 
soon  he  was  sitting  with  her  on  the  grass,  and  longing  to 
declare  his  heartfelt  love  to  her,  and  the  bashful  shepherd 
found  no  words  to  do  it  in.  He  would  have  dreamed  till 
broad  mid-day\  had  he  not  been  roused  by  the  sonorous  voice 
and  clanking  spurs  of  the  Ritter,  who,  with  the  earliest 
dawn,  was  holding  a  review  of  kitchen  and  cellar,  ordering 
a  sufficient  breakfast  to  be  readied,  and  placing  every  ser- 
vant at  his  post,  to  be  at  hand,  when  the  guest  should  awake, 
to  dress  him,  and  wait  upon  him. 

It  cost  the  happy  dreamer  no  small  struggling  to  forsake 
his  safe  and  hospitable  bed  ;  he  rolled  to  this  side  and  to 
that  ;  but  the  pealing  voice  of  the  worshipful  Knight  came 
heavy  on  his  heart;  and  dally  as  he  might,  the  sour  apple 
must  at  last  be  bit.  So  he  rose  from  his  down;  and  imme- 
diately a  dozen  hands  were  busy  dressing  him.  The  Ritter 
led  him  into  the  parlor,  where  a  small,  well-furnished  table 
waited  them  ;  but  now,  when  the  hour  of  reckoning  had  ar- 
rived, the  traveller's  appetite  was  gone.  The  host  endeav- 
ored to  encourage  him.  "  Why  do  you  not  get  to  ?  Come, 
take  somewhat  for  the  raw,  foggy  morning." 

"  H'err  Ritter,"  answered  Franz,  "  my  stomach  is  still  too 
full  of  your  supper  ;  but  my  pockets  are  empty  ;  these  I 
may  fill  for  the  hunger  that  is  to  come." 

With  this  he  began  stoutly  cramming,  and  stowed  himself 
with  the  daintiest  and  best  that  was  transportable,  till  all  his 
pockets  were  bursting.  Then  observing  that  his  horse,  well 
curried  and  equipt,  was  led  past,  he  took  a  dram  of  Dant- 
zig,  for  good-b'ye,  in  the  thought  that  this  would  be  the 
watch-word  for  his  host  to  catch  him  by  the  neck,  and  exer- 
cise his  household  privileges. 

But  to  his  astonishment,  the   Ritter   shook  him   kindly  by 


48  MUSAEUS. 

the  hand,  as  at  his  first  entrance,  wished  him  luck  by  the 
way,  and  the  bolted  door  was  thrown  open.  He  loitered 
not  in  putting  spurs  to  his  nag  ;  and,  tip  !  tap  !  he  was  with- 
out the  gate,  and  no  hair  of  him  harmed. 

A  heavy  stone  was  lifted  from  his  heart,  as  he  found  him- 
self in  safety,  and  saw  that  he  had  got  away  with  a  whole 
skin.  He  could  not  understand  how  the  landlord  had  trusted 
him  the  shot,  which,  as  he  imagined,  must  have  run  pretty 
high  on  the  chalk  ;  and  he  embraced  with  warm  love  the 
hospitable  man,  whose  club-law  arm  he  had  so  much  dread- 
ed;  and  he  felt  a  strong  desire  to  search  out,  at  the  foun- 
tain-head, the  reason  or  unreason  of  the  ill  report  which  had 
affrighted  him.  Accordingly,  he  turned  his  horse,  and  can- 
tered back.  The  Knight  was  still  standing  in  the  gate,  and 
descanting  with  his  servants,  for  the  forwarding  of  the  sci- 
ence of  horse-flesh,  on  the  breed,  shape,  and  character  of 
the  nag  and  his  hard  pace  ;  he  supposed  the  stranger  must 
have  missed  something  in  his  travelling  gear,  and  he  already 
looked  askance  at  his  servants  for  such  negligence. 

"  What  is  it,  young  master,"  cried  he,  "  that  makes  you 
turn  again,  when  you  were  for  proceeding?  " 

"Ah!  yet  a  word,  valiant  Knight,"  cried  the  traveller. 
"  An  ill  report  has  gone  abroad,  that  injures  your  name  and 
breeding.  It  is  said  that  you  treat  every  stranger  that  calls 
upon  you  with  your  best ;  and  then,  when  he  leaves  you, 
let  him  feel  the  weight  of  your  strong  fists.  This  story  I 
have  credited,  and  spared  nothing  to  deserve  my  due  from 
you.  I  thought  within  myself,  His  worship  will  abate  me 
nothing  ;  I  will  abate  him  as  little.  But  now  you  let  me  go 
without  strife  or  peril  ;  and  that  is  what  surprises  me.  Pray, 
tell  me,  is  there  any  shadow  of  foundation  for  the  thing,  or 
shall  I  call  the  foolish  chatter  lies  next  time  I  hear  it?  " 

The  Hitter  answered.  "  Report  has  nowise  told  you  lies  ; 
there  is   no  saying,  that  circulates   among  the   people,  but 


DUMB    LOVE.  49 

contains  in  it  some  grain  of  truth.  Let  me  tell  you  accu- 
rately how  the  matter  stands.  I  lodge  every  stranger  that 
comes  beneath  my  roof,  and  divide  my  morsel  with  him,  for 
the  love  of  God.  But  I  am  a  plain  German  man,  of  the 
old  cut  and  fashion ;  speak  as  it  lies  about  my  heart,  and 
require  that  my  guest  also  should  be  hearty  and  confiding  ; 
should  enjoy  with  me  what  I  have,  and  tell  frankly  what  he 
wants.  Now,  there  is  a  sort  of  people  that  vex  me  with  all 
manner  of  grimaces  ;  that  banter  me  with  smirkings,  and 
bows,  and  crouchings ;  put  all  their  words  to  the  torture  ; 
make  a  deal  of  talk  without  sense  or  salt ;  think  they  will 
cozen  me  with  smooth  speeches  ;  behave  at  dinner  as  women 
at  a  christening.  If  I  say,  Help  yourself!  out  of  reverence, 
they  pick  you  a  fraction  from  the  plate,  which  I  would  not 
offer  to  my  dog;  if  I  say,  Your  health!  they  scarcely  wet 
their  lips  from  the  full  cup,  as  if  they  set  God's  gifts  at 
nought.  Now,  when  the  sorry  rabble  carry  things  too  far 
with  me,  and  I  cannot,  for  the  soul  of  me,  know  what  they 
would  be  at,  I  get  into  a  rage  at  last,  and  use  my  household 
privilege  ;  catch  the  noodle  by  the  spall,  thrash  him  suffi- 
ciently, and  packhi  mout  of  doors.  This  is  the  use  and 
wont  with  me,  and  I  do  so  with  every  guest  that  plagues  me 
with  these  freaks.  But  a  man  of  your  stamp  is  always 
welcome.  You  told  me  plump  out  in  plain  German  what  you 
thought,  as  is  the  fashion  with  the  Bremers.  Call  on  me 
boldly  again,  if  your  road  lead  you  hither.  And  so,  God 
be  with  you." 

Franz  now  moved  on,  with  a  joyful  humor,  towards  Ant- 
werp ;  and  he  wished  that  he  might  everywhere  find  such 
a  reception  as  he  had  met  with  from  the  Ritter  Eberhard 
Bronkhorst.  On  approaching  the  ancient  Queen  of  the 
Flemish  cities,  the  sail  of  his  hope  was  swelled  by  a  pro- 
pitious breeze.  Riches  and  superfluity  met  him  in  every 
street ;  and  it  seemed   as  if  scarcity  and  want  had   been 

vol.  i.  5 


50  MUSAEUS. 

exiled  from  the  busy  town.  In  all  probability,  thought  he, 
there  must  be  many  of  my  father's  debtors  who  have  risen 
again,  and  will  gladly  make  me  full  payment  whenever  I 
substantiate  my  claims.  After  resting  for  a  while  from  his 
fatigues,  he  set  about  obtaining,  in  the  inn  where  he  was 
quartered,  some  preliminary  knowledge  of  the  situation  of 
his  debtors. 

"  How  stands  it  with  Peter  Martens  ?  "  inquired  he,  one 
day,  of  his  companions  at  table  ;  "  is  he  still  living,  and 
doing  much  business  ?  " 

"  Peter  Martens  is  a  warm  man,"  answered  one  of  the 
party;  "has  a  brisk  commission  trade,  and  draws  good 
profit  from  it." 

"  Is  Fabian  van  Pliirs  still  in  good  circumstances  ? " 

"  O  !  there  is  no  end  to  Fabian's  wealth.  He  is  a  Coun- 
cillor ;  his  woollen  manufactories  are  thriving  incredi- 
bly." 

"  Has  Jonathan  Frischkier  good  custom  in  his  trade  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  Jonathan  were  now  a  brisk  fellow,  had  not  Kaiser 
Max  let  the  French  chouse  him  out  of  his  Princess.*  Jon- 
athan had  got  the  furnishing  of  the  lace  for  the  bride's  dress, 
but  the  Kaiser  has  left  poor  Frischkier  in  the  lurch,  as  the 
bride  has  left  himself.  If  you  have  a  fair  one,  whom  you 
would  remember  with  a  bit  of  lace,  he  will  give  it  you  at 
half  price.'* 

"  Is  the  firm  Op  de  Biitekant  still  standing,  or  has  it 
sunk  ? " 

«  There  was  a  crack  in  the  beams  there  some  years  ago  ; 
but  the  Spanish  caravelles  have  put  a  new  prop  to  it,  and 
it  now  holds  fast." 

Franz  inquired  about  several  other  merchants,  who  were 
on  his  list ;  found  that  most  of  them,  though  in  his  father's 

*  Anne  of  Brittany. 


DUMB    LOVE. 


51 


time  they  had  "  failed,"  were  now  standing  firmly  on  their 
legs ;  and  inferred  from  this,  that  a  judicious  bankruptcy 
has,  from  of  old,  been  the  mine  of  future  gains.  This  in- 
telligence refreshed  him  mightily.  He  hastened  to  put  his 
documents  in  order,  and  submit  them  to  the  proper  parties. 
But  with  the  Antwerpers,  he  fared  as  his  itinerating  country- 
men do  with  shopkeepers  in  the  German  towns ;  they  find 
everywhere  a  friendly  welcome  at  their  first  appearance, 
but  are  looked  upon  with  cheerfulness  nowhere,  when  they 
come  collecting  debts.  Some  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  these  former  sins  ;  and  were  of  opinion,  that  by  the 
tender  of  the  legal  five-per-cent  composition  they  had  been 
entirely  abolished  ;  it  was  the  creditor's  fault  if  he  had  not 
accepted  payment  in  time.  Others  could  not  recollect  any 
Melchior  of  Bremen  ;  opened  their  Infallible  Books  ;  found 
no  debtor-entry  marked  for  this  unknown  name.  Others, 
again,  brought  out  a  strong  counter-reckoning  ;  and  three 
days  had  not  passed,  till  Franz  was  sitting  in  the  Debtors' 
Ward,  to  answer  for  his  father's  credit,  not  to  depart  till  he 
had  paid  the  uttermost  farthing. 

These  were  not  the  best  prospects  for  the  young  man, 
who  had  set  his  hope  and  trust  upon  the  Antwerp  patrons  of 
his  fortune,  and  now  saw  the  fair  soap-bubble  vanish  quite 
away.  In  his  strait  confinement,  he  felt  himself  in  the  con- 
dition of  a  soul  in  Purgatory,  now  that  his  skiff  had  run 
ashore  and  gone  to  pieces,  in  the  middle  of  the  haven  where 
he  thought  to  find  security.  Every  thought  of  Meta  was  as  a 
thorn  in  his  heart ;  there  was  now  no  shadow  of  a  possibil- 
ity, that  from  the  whirlpool  which  had  sunk  him  he  could 
ever  rise,  and  stretch  out  his  hand  to  her ;  nor,  suppose  he 
should  get  his  head  above  water,  was  it  in  poor  Meta's 
power  to  pull  him  on  dry  land.  He  fell  into  a  sullen  des- 
peration ;  had  no  wish  but  to  die  speedily,  and  give  his  woes 
the  slip  at  once  ;  and,  in  fact,  he  did  attempt  to  kill  himself 


52  MUSAEUS. 

by  starvation.  But  this  is  a  sort  of  death  which  is  not  at 
the  beck  of  every  one,  so  ready  as  the  shrunk  Pomponius 
Atticus  found  it,  when  his  digestive  apparatus  had  already 
struck  work.  A  sound,  peptic  stomach  does  not  yield  so 
tamely  to  the  precepts  of  the  head  or  heart.  After  the  mori- 
bund debtor  had  abstained  two  days  from  food,  a  ravenous 
hunger  suddenly  usurped  the  government  of  his  will,  and 
performed,  of  its  own  authority,  all  the  operations  which,  in 
other  cases,  are  directed  by  the  mind.  It  ordered  his  hand 
to  seize  the  spoon,  his  mouth  to  receive  the  victual,  his  in- 
ferior maxillary  jaw  to  get  in  motion,  and  itself  accomplish- 
ed the  usual  functions  of  digestion,  unordered.  Thus  did 
this  last  resolve  make  shipwreck,  on  a  hard  bread-crust ; 
for,  in  the  seven-and-twentieth  year  of  life,  it  has  a  hero- 
ism connected  with  it,  which  in  the  seven-and-seventieth  is 
entirely  gone. 

At  bottom,  it  was  not  the  object  of  the  barbarous  Ant- 
werpers  to  squeeze  money  from  the  pretended  debtor,  but 
only  to  pay  him  none,  as  his  demands  were  not  admitted  to 
be  liquid.  Whether  it  were,  then,  that  the  public  Prayer  in 
Bremen  had  in  truth  a  little  virtue,  or  that  the  supposed 
creditors  were  not  desirous  of  supporting  a  superfluous 
boarder  for  life,  true  it  is,  that,  after  the  lapse  of  three 
months,  Franz  was  delivered  from  his  imprisonment,  under 
the  condition  of  leaving  the  city  within  four-and-twenty 
hours,  and  never  again  setting  foot  on  the  soil  and  territory 
of  Antwerp.  At  the  same  time,  he  received  five  crowns 
for  travelling  expenses  from  the  faithful  hands  of  Justice, 
which  had  taken  charge  of  his  horse  and  luggage,  and 
conscientiously  balanced  the  produce  of  the  same  against 
judicial  and  curatory  expenses. 

With  heavy-laden  heart,  in  the  humblest  mood,  with  his 
staff  in  his  hand,  he  left  the  rich  city,  into  which  he  had 
ridden  some  time  ago   with  high-soaring  hopes.      Broken 


DUMB    LOVE.  53 

down,  and  undetermined  what  to  do,  or  rather  altogether 
without  thought,  he  plodded  through  the  streets  to  the  near- 
est gate,  not  minding  whither  the  road  into  which  chance 
conducted  him  might  lead.  He  saluted  no  traveller,  he 
asked  for  no  inn,  except  when  fatigue  or  hunger  forced  him 
to  lift  up  his  eyes,  and  look  around  for  some  church-spire, 
or  sign  of  human  habitation,  when  he  needed  human  aid. 
Many  days  he  had  wandered  on,  as  if  unconsciously ;  and 
a  secret  instinct  had  still,  by  means  of  his  uncrazed  feet,  led 
him  right  forward  on  the  way  to  home  ;  when,  all  at  once, 
he  awoke  as  from  an  oppressive  dream,  and  perceived  on 
what  road  he  was  travelling. 

He  halted  instantly,  to  consider  whether  he  should  pro- 
ceed or  turn  back.  Shame  and  confusion  took  possession 
of  his  soul,  when  he  thought  of  skulking  about  in  his  native 
town  as  a  beggar,  branded  with  the  mark  of  contempt,  and 
claiming  the  charitable  help  of  his  townsmen,  whom  of  old 
he  had  eclipsed  by  his  wealth  and  magnificence.  And  how 
in  this  form  could  he  present  himself  before  his  fair  Meta, 
without  disgracing  the  choice  of  her  heart  ?  He  did  not 
leave  his  fancy  time  to  finish  this  doleful  picture ;  but  wheel- 
ed about  to  take  the  other  road,  as  hastily  as  if  he  had  been 
standing  even  then  at  the  gate  of  Bremen,  and  the  ragged 
apprentices  had  been  assembling  to  accompany  him  with 
jibes  and  mockery  through  the  streets.  His  purpose  was 
formed  ;  he  would  make  for  the  nearest  seaport  in  the  Neth- 
erlands ;  engage  as  sailor  in  a  Spanish  ship,  to  work  his 
passage  to  the  new  world  ;  and  not  return  to  his  country, 
till  in  the  Peruvian  land  of  gold  he  should  have  regained  the 
wealth,  which  he  had  squandered  so  heedlessly,  before  he 
knew  the  worth  of  money.  In  the  shaping  of  this  new 
plan,  it  is  true,  the  fair  Meta  fell  so  far  into  the  back-ground, 
that  even  to  the  sharpest  prophetic  eye  she  could  only  hover 
as  a  faint  shadow  in  the  distance  ;  yet  the  wandering  pro- 
5* 


54 


MUSAEUS. 


jector  pleased  himself  with  thinking  that  she  was  again  in- 
terwoven with  the  scheme  of  his  life  ;  and  he  took  large 
steps,  as  if  by  this  rapidity  he  meant  to  reach  her  so  much 
the  sooner. 

Already  he  was  on  the  Flemish  soil  once  more  ;  and 
found  himself  at  sunset  not  far  from  Rheinberg,  in  a  little 
hamlet,  Rummelsburg  by  name,  which  has  since,  in  the 
Thirty  Years'  War,  been  utterly  destroyed.  A  caravan  of 
carriers  from  Lyke  had  already  filled  the  inn,  so  that  Mine 
Host  had  no  room  left,  and  referred  him  to  the  next  town ; 
the  rather  that  he  did  not  draw  too  flattering  a  presage  from 
his  present  vagabond  physiognomy,  and  held  him  to  be  a 
thieves'  purveyor,  who  had  views  upon  the  Lyke  carriers. 
He  was  forced,  notwithstanding  his  excessive  weariness,  to 
gird  himself  for  march,  and  again  to  take  his  bundle  on  his 
back. 

As  in  retiring,  he  was  muttering  between  his  teeth  some 
bitter  complaints  and  curses  of  the  Landlord's  hardness  of 
heart,  the  latter  seemed  to  take  some  pity  on  the  forlorn 
wayfarer,  and  called  after  him,  from  the  door :  "  Stay, 
neighbor,  let  me  speak  to  you  ;  if  you  wish  to  rest  here,  I 
can  accommodate  you  after  all.  In  that  Castle  there  are 
empty  rooms  enow,  if  they  be  not  too  lonely  ;  it  is  not  in- 
habited, and  I  have  got  the  keys."  Franz  accepted  the  pro- 
posal with  joy,  praised  it  as  a  deed  of  mercy,  and  requested 
only  shelter  and  a  supper,  were  it  in  a  castle  or  a  cottage. 
Mine  Host,  however,  was  privily  a  rogue,  whom  ithad galled 
to  hear  the  stranger  drop  some  half-audible  contumelies 
against  him,  and  meant  to  be  avenged  on  him,  by  a  Hobgob- 
lin that  inhabited  the  old  fortress^  and  had  many  long  years 
before  expelled  the  owners. 

The  Castle  lay  hard  by  the  hamlet,  on  a  steep  rock,  right 
opposite  the  inn,  from  which  it  was  divided  merely  by  the 
highway,  and  a  little   gurgling    brook.     The  situation  being 


DUMB    LOVE.  55 

so  agreeable,  the  edifice  was  still  kept  in  repair,  and  well 
provided  with  all  sorts  of  house-gear ;  for  it  served  the 
owner  as  a  hunting-lodge,  where  he  frequently  caroused 
all  day ;  and  so  soon  as  the  stars  began  to  twinkle  in  the 
sky,  retired  with  his  whole  retinue,  to  escape  the  mischief 
of  the  Ghost,  who  rioted  about  in  it  the  whole  night  over, 
but  by  day  gave  no  disturbance.  Unpleasant  as  the  owner 
felt  this  spoiling  of  his  mansion  by  a  bugbear,  the  noctur- 
nal sprite  was  not  without  advantages,  for  the  great  security 
it  gave  from  thieves.  The  Count  could  have  appointed  no 
trustier  or  more  watchful  keeper  over  the  Castle  than  this 
same  Spectre,  for  the  rashest  troop  of  robbers  never  ven- 
tured to  approach  its  station.  Accordingly  he  knew  of  no 
safer  place,  for  laying  up  his  valuables,  than  this  old  tower, 
in  the  hamlet  of  Rummelsburg,  near  Rheinberg. 

The  sunshine  had  sunk,  the  dark  night  was  coming 
heavily  on,  when  Franz,  with  a  lantern  in  his  hand,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  castle-gate,  under  the  guidance  of  Mine  Host, 
who  carried  in  his  hand  a  basket  of  victuals,  with  a  flask  of 
wine,  which  he  said  should  not  be  marked  against  him.  He 
had  also  taken  along  with  him  a  pair  of  candlesticks,  and 
two  wax-lights  ;  for  in  the  whole  Castle  there  was  neither 
lamp  nor  taper,  as  no  one  ever  staid  in  it  after  twilight.  In 
the  way,  Franz  noticed  the  creaking,  heavy-laden  basket, 
and  the  wax-lights,  which  he  thought  he  should  not  need, 
and  yet  must  pay  for.  Therefore  he  said  :  "  What  is  this 
superfluity  and  waste,  as  at  a  banquet  ?  The  light  in  the 
lantern  is  enough  to  see  with,  till  I  go  to  bed  ;  and  when 
I  awake,  the  sun  will  be  high  enough,  for  I  am  tired  com- 
pletely, and  shall  sleep  with  both  eyes." 

"  I  will  not  hide  from  you,"  replied  the  Landlord,  u  that 
a  story  runs  of  there  being  mischief  in  the  Castle,  and  a 
Goblin  that  frequents  it.  You,  however,  need  not  let  the 
thing  disturb  you  ;  we  are  near  enough,  you  see,  for  you 


56  MUSAEUS. 

to  call  us,  should  you  meet  with  aught  unnatural  ;  I  and  my 
folks  will  be  at  your  hand  in  a  twinkling,  to  assist  you. 
Down  in  the  house  there,  we  keep  a  stir  all  night  through, 
some  one  is  always  moving.  I  have  lived  here  these  thirty 
years  ;  yet  I  cannot  say  that  I  have  ever  seen  aught.  If 
there  be  now  and  then  a  little  hurly-burlying  at  nights,  it  is 
nothing  but  cats  and  martins  rummaging  about  the  granary. 
As  a  precaution,  I  have  provided  you  with  candles  ;  the 
night  is  no  friend  of  man  ;  and  the  tapers  are  consecrated, 
so  that  sprites,  if  there  be  such  in  the  Castle,  will  avoid 
their  shine." 

It  was  no  lying  in  Mine  Host  to  say  that  he  had  never 
seen  anything  of  spectres  in  the  Castle  ;  for  by  night  he 
had  taken  special  care  not  once  to  set  foot  in  it ;  and 
by  day  the  Goblin  did  not  come  to  sight.  In  the  present 
case,  too,  the  traitor  would  not  risk  himself  across  the 
border.  After  opening  the  door,  he  handed  Franz  the 
basket,  directed  him  what  way  to  go,  and  wished  him  good 
night.  Franz  entered  the  lobby  without  anxiety  or  fear  ; 
believing  the  ghost  story  to  be  empty  tattle,  or  a  distorted 
tradition  of  some  real  occurrence  in  the  place,  which  idle 
fancy  had  shaped  into  an  unnatural  adventure.  He  re- 
membered the  stout  Hitter  Eberhard  Bronkhorst,  from 
whose  heavy  arm  he  had  apprehended  such  maltreatment, 
and  with  whom,  notwithstanding,  he  had  found  so  hos- 
pitable a  reception.  On  this  ground  he  had  laid  it  down  as 
a  rule  deduced  from  his  travelling  experiences,  when  he 
heard  any  common  rumor,  to  believe  exactly  the  reverse, 
and  left  the  grain  of  truth,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  wise 
Knight,  always  lies  in  such  reports,  entirely  out  of  sight. 

Pursuant  to  Mine  Host's  direction,  he  ascended  the  wind- 
ing stone  stair  ;  and  reached  a  bolted  door,  which  he  opened 
with  his  key.  A  long,  dark  gallery,  where  his  footsteps 
resounded,  led  him  into  a  large  hall,  and  from  this,  a  side- 


DUMB    LOVE.  57 

door,  into  a  suite  of  apartments,  richly  provided  with  all 
furniture  for  decoration  or  convenience.  Out  of  these  he 
chose  the  room  which  had  the  friendliest  aspect,  where  he 
found  a  well-pillowed  bed ;  and  from  the  window  could  look 
right  down  upon  the  inn,  and  catch  every  loud  word  that 
was  spoken  there.  He  lit  his  wax-tapers,  furnished  his 
table,  and  feasted  with  the  commodiousness  and  relish  of 
an  Otaheitean  noble.  The  big-bellied  flask  was  an  antidote 
to  thirst.  So  long  as  his  teeth  were  in  full  occupation,  he 
had  no  time  to  think  of  the  reported  devilry  in  the  Castle. 
If  aught  now  and  then  made  a  stir  in  the  distance,  and  Fear 
called  to  him,  "  Hark  !  hark  !  There  comes  the  Goblin  ;  " 
Courage  answered,  "  Stuff!  It  is  cats  and  martins  bicker- 
ing and  caterwauling."  But  in  the  digestive  half-hour  after 
meat,  when  the  sixth  sense,  that  of  hunger  and  thirst,  no 
longer  occupied  the  soul,  she  directed  her  attention  from 
the  other  five  exclusively  upon  the  sense  of  hearing ;  and 
already  Fear  was  whispering  three  timid  thoughts  into  the 
listener's  ear,  before  Courage  had  time  to  answer  once. 

As  the  first  resource,  he  .locked  the  door,  and  bolted  it; 
made  his  retreat  to  the  walled  seat  in  the  vault  of  the  win- 
dow. He  opened  this,  and,  to  dissipate  his  thoughts  a  little, 
looked  out  on  the  spangled  sky,  gazed  at  the  corroded 
moon,  and  counted  how  often  the  stars  snuffed  themselves. 
On  the  road  beneath  him  all  was  void  ;  and  in  spite  of  the 
pretended  nightly  bustle  in  the  inn,  the  doors  were  shut, 
the  lights  out,  and  everything  as  still  as  in  a  sepulchre.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  watchman  blew  his  horn,  making  his 
"  List,  gentlemen  ! "  sound  over  all  the  hamlet ;  and  for 
the  composure  of  the  timorous  astronomer,  who  still  kept 
feasting  his  eyes  on  the  splendor  of  the  stars,  uplifted  a  rusty 
evening-hymn  right  under  his  window;  so  that  Franz  might 
easily  have  carried  on  a  conversation  with  him,  which,  for 
the  sake  of  company,  he  would   willingly  have  done,  had  he 


58  MUSAEUS. 

in  the  least  expected  that  the  watchman  would  make  answer 
to  him. 

In  a  populous  city,  in  the  middle  of  a  numerous  house- 
hold, where  there  is  a  hubbub  equal  to  that  of  a  bee-hive,  it 
may  form  a  pleasant  entertainment  for  the  thinker  to  phi- 
losophize on  Solitude,  to  decorate  her  as  the  loveliest  play- 
mate of  the  human  spirit,  to  view  her  under  all  her  advan- 
tageous aspects,  and  long  for  her  enjoyment  as  for  hidden 
treasure.  But  in  scenes  where  she  is  no  exotic,  in  the  isle 
of  Juan  Fernandez,  where  a  solitary  eremite,  escaped  from 
shipwreck,  lives  with  her  through  long  years ;  or  in  the 
dreary  night-time,  in  a  deep  wood,  or  in  an  old  uninhabited 
castle,  where  empty  walls  and  vaults  awaken  horror,  and 
nothing  breathes  of  life,  but  the  moping  owl  in  the  ruinous 
turret ;  there,  in  good  sooth,  she  is  not  the  most  agreeable 
companion  for  the  timid  anchorite  that  has  to  pass  his  time 
in  her  abode,  especially  if  he  is  every  moment  looking  for 
the  entrance  of  a  spectre  to  augment  the  party.  In  such  a 
case  it  may  easily  chance  that  a  window  conversation  with 
the  watchman  shall  afford  a  richer  entertainment  for  the 
spirit  and  the  heart,  than  a  reading  of  the  most  attractive 
eulogy  on  solitude.  If  Hitter  Zimmerman  had  been  in 
Franz's  place,  in  the  castle  of  Rummelsburg,  on  the  West- 
phalian  marches,  he  would  doubtless  in  this  position  have 
struck  out  the  fundamental  topics  of  as  interesting  a  treatise 
on  Society,  as,  inspired  to  all  appearance  by  the  irksome- 
ness  of  some  ceremonious  assembly,  he  has  poured  out 
from  the  fulness  of  his  heart  in  praise  of  Solitude. 

Midnight  is  the  hour  at  which  the  world  of  spirits  acquires 
activity  and  life,  when  hebetated  animal  nature  lies  en- 
tombed in  deep  slumber.  Franz  inclined  getting  through  this 
critical  hour  in  sleep  rather  than  awake  ;  so  he  closed  his 
window,  went  the  rounds  of  his  room  once  more,  spying 
every  nook  and   crevice,  to  see  whether  all  was  safe  and 


DUMB    LOVE.  59 

earthly  ;  snuffed  the  lights  to  make  them  burn  clearer  ;  and, 
without  undressing  or  delaying,  threw  himself  upon  his  bed, 
with  which  his  wearied  person  felt  unusual  satisfaction. 
Yet  he  could  not  get  asleep  so  fast  as  he  wished.  A  slight 
palpitation  at  the  heart,  which  he  ascribed  to  a  tumult  in  the 
blood,  arising  from  the  sultriness  of  the  day,  kept  him 
waking  for  a  while  ;  and  he  failed  not  to  employ  this  res- 
pite in  offering  up  such  a  pithy  evening  prayer  as  he  had 
not  prayed  for  many  years.  This  produced  the  usual  effect, 
that  he  softly  fell  asleep  while  saying  it. 

After  about  an  hour,  as  he  supposed,  he  started  up  with  a 
sudden  terror ;  a  thing  not  at  all  surprising  when  there  is 
tumult  in  the  blood.  He  was  broad  awake  ;  he  listened 
whether  all  was  quiet,  and  heard  nothing  but  the  clock 
strike  twelve  ;  a  piece  of  news  which  the  watchman  forth- 
with communicated  to  the  hamlet  in  doleful  recitative. 
Franz  listened  for  a  while,  turned  on  the  other  side,  and 
was  again  about  to  sleep,  when  he  caught,  as  it  were,  the 
sound  of  a  door  grating  in  the  distance,  and  immediately 
it  shut  with  a  stifled  bang.  "  Alake  !  Alake  !  "  bawled 
Fright  into  his  ear  ;  u  this  is  the  Ghost  in  very  deed  !  " — 
"  'T  is  nothing  but  the  wind,"  said  Courage  manfully.  But 
quickly  it  came  nearer,  nearer,  like  the  sound  of  heavy 
footsteps.  Clink  here,  clink  there,  as  if  a  criminal  were 
rattling  his  irons,  or  as  if  the  porter  were  walking  about  the 
Castle  with  his  bunch  of  keys.  Alas,  here  was  no  wind 
business  !  Courage  held  his  peace  ;  and  quaking  Fear  drove 
all  the  blood  to  the  heart,  and  made  it  thump  like  a  smith's 
forehammer. 

The  thing  was  now  beyond  jesting.  If  Fear  would  still 
have  let  Courage  get  a  word,  the  latter  would  have  put  the 
terror-struck  watcher  in  mind  of  his  subsidiary  treaty  with 
Mine  Host,  and  incited  him  to  claim  the  stipulated  assist- 
ance  loudly  from   the   window ;    but  for  this  there   was"  a 


60  MUSAEUS. 

want  of  proper  resolution.  The  quaking  Franz  had  re- 
course to  the  bed-clothes,  the  last  fortress  of  the  timorous, 
and  drew  them  close  over  his  ears,  as  Bird  Ostrich  sticks  his 
head  in  the  grass,  when  he  can  no  longer  escape  the  huntsman. 
Outside  it  came  along,  door  up,  door  to,  with  hideous  up- 
roar ;  and  at  last  it  reached  the  bed-room.  It  jerked  sharply 
at  the  lock,  tried  several  keys  till  it  found  the  right  one  ;  yet 
the  bar  still  held  the  door,  till  a  bounce  like  a  thunder-clap 
made  bolt  and  rivet  start,  and  threw  it  wide  open.  Now 
stalked  in  a  long  lean  man,  with  a  black  beard,  in  ancient 
garb,  and  with  a  gloomy  countenance,  his  eye-brows  hang- 
ing down  in  deep  earnestness  from  his  brow.  Over  his 
right  shoulder  he  had  a  scarlet  cloak  ;  and  on  his  head  he 
wore  a  peaked  hat.  With  a  heavy  step,  he  walked  thrice 
in  silence  up  and  down  the  chamber  ;  looked  at  the  conse- 
crated tapers,  and  snuffed  them  that  they  might  burn  bright- 
er. Then  he  threw  aside  his  cloak,  girded  on  a  scissor- 
pouch  which  he  had  under  it,  produced  a  set  of  shaving- 
tackle,  and  immediately  began  to  whet  a  sharp  razor  on  the 
broad  strap  which  he  wore  at  his  girdle. 

Franz  perspired  in  mortal  agony  under  his  coverlet;  re- 
commended himself  to  the  keeping  of  the  Virgin ;  and 
anxiously  speculated  on  the  object  of  this  manoeuvre,  not 
knowing  whether  it  was  meant  for  his  throat  or  his  beard. 
To  his  comfort,  the  Goblin  poured  some  water  from  a  silver 
flask  into  a  basin  of  silver,  and  with  his  skinny  hand  lather- 
ed the  soap  into  light  foam  ;  then  set  a  chair,  and  beckoned 
with  a  solemn  look  to  the  quaking  looker-on  to  come  forth 
from  his  recess. 

Against  so  pertinent  a  sign  remonstrance  was  as  boot- 
less as  it  is  against  the  rigorous  commands  of  the  Grand 
Turk,  when  he  transmits  an  exiled  vizier  to  the  Angel  of 
Death,  the  Capichi  Bashi  with  the  Silken  Cord,  to  take  de- 
livery of  his  head.     The  most  rational  procedure  that  can 


,  DUMB    LOVE.  61 

be  adopted  in  this  critical  case  is  to  comply  with  necessity, 
put  a  good  face  on  a  bad  business,  and  with  stoical  com- 
posure let  one's  throat  be  noosed.  Franz  honored  the 
Spectre's  order ;  the  coverlet  began  to  move,  he  sprang 
sharply  from  his  couch,  and  took  the  place  pointed  out  to 
him  on  the  seat.  However  strange  this  quick  transition 
from  the  uttermost  terror  to  the  boldest  resolution  may  ap- 
pear, I  doubt  not  but  Moritz  in  his  Psychological  Journal 
could  explain  the  matter  till  it  seemed  quite  natural. 

Immediately  the  Goblin  Barber  tied  the  towel  about  his 
shivering  customer ;  seized  the  comb  and  scissors,  and 
clipped  off  his  hair  and  beard.  Then  he  soaped  him  scien- 
tifically, first  the  beard,  next  the  eye-brows,  at  last  the 
temples  and  the  hind-head  ;  and  shaved  him  from  throat  to 
nape,  as  smooth  and  bald  as  a  Death's-head.  This  operation 
finished,  he  washed  his  head,  dried  it  clean,  made  his  bow, 
and  buttoned  up  his  scissor-pouch  ;  wrapped  himself  in  his 
scarlet  mantle,  and  made  for  departing.  The  consecrated 
tapers  had  burnt  with  an  exquisite  brightness  through  the 
whole  transaction  ;  and  Franz,  by  the  light  of  them,  per- 
ceived in  the  mirror  that  the  shaver  had  changed  him  into  a 
Chinese  pagoda.  In  secret  he  heartily  deplored  the  loss  of 
his  fair  brown  locks  ;  yet  now  took  fresh  breath,  as  he  ob- 
served that  with  this  sacrifice  the  account  was  settled,  and 
the  Ghost  had  no  more  power  over  him. 

So  it  was  in  fact ;  Redcloak  went  towards  the  door, 
silently  as  he  had  entered,  without  salutation  or  good  b'ye  ; 
and  seemed  entirely  the  contrast  of  his  talkative  guild- 
brethren.  But  scarcely  was  he  gone  three  steps,  when  he 
paused,  looked  round  with  a  mournful  expression  at  his 
well-served  customer,  and  stroked  the  flat  of  his  hand  over 
his  black  bushy  beard.  He  did  the  same  a  second  time  ; 
and  again,  just  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  stepping  out  at  the 
door.     A   thought   struck    Franz  that  the   Spectre    wanted 

vol.  i.  6 


62 


MUSAEUS. 


something;  and  a  rapid  combination  of  ideas  suggested 
that  perhaps  he  was  expecting  the  very  service  he  himself 
had  just  performed. 

As  the  Ghost,  notwithstanding  his  rueful  look,  seemed 
more  disposed  for  banter  than  for  seriousness,  and  had 
played  his  guest  a  scurvy  trick,  not  done  him  any  real  inju- 
ry, the  panic  of  the  latter  had  now  almost  subsided.  So  he 
ventured  the  experiment,  and  beckoned  to  the  Ghost  to  take 
the  seat  from  which  he  had  himself  just  risen.  The  Goblin 
instantly  obeyed,  threw  off  his  cloak,  laid  his  barber  tackle 
on  the  table,  and  placed  himself  in  the  chair,  in  the  posture 
of  a  man  that  wishes  to  be  shaved.  Franz  carefully  observ- 
ed the  same  procedure  which  the  spectre  had  observed 
to  him,  clipped  his  beard  with  the  scissors,  cropt  away 
his  hair,  lathered  his  whole  scalp,  and  the  Ghost  all  the 
while  sat  steady  as  a  wig-block.  The  awkward  journeyman 
came  ill  at  handling  the  razor  ;  he  had  never  had  another 
in  his  hand  ;  and  he  shore  the  beard  right  against  the  hair  ; 
whereat  the  Goblin  made  as  strange  grimaces  as  Erasmus's 
Ape,  when  imitating  its  master's  shaving.  Nor  was  the 
unpractised  bungler  himself  well  at  ease,  and  he  thought 
more  than  once  of  the  sage  aphorism,  What  is  not  thy 
trade  make  not  thy  business ;  yet  he  struggled  through  the 
task,  the  best  way  he  could,  and  scraped  the  Ghost  as  bald 
as  he  himself  was. 

Hitherto  the  scene  between  the  Spectre  and  the  traveller 
had  been  played  pantomimically ;  the  action  now  became 
dramatic.  "  Stranger,"  said  the  Ghost,  "  accept  my  thanks 
for  the  service  thou  hast  done  me.  By  thee  I  am  delivered 
from  the  long  imprisonment  which  has  chained  me  for 
three  hundred  years  within  these  walls  ;  to  which  my  de- 
parted soul  was  doomed,  till  a  mortal  hand  should  consent 
to  retaliate  on  me  what  I  practised  on  others  in  my  lifetime. 

"  Know  that  of  old  a   reckless  scorner  dwelt  within  this 


DUMB    LOVE.  63 

tower,  who  took  his  sport  on  priests  as  well  as  laics.  Count 
Hardman,  such  his  name,  was  no  philanthropist,  acknow- 
ledged no  superior  and  no  law,  but  practised  vain  caprice 
and  waggery,  regarding  not  the  sacredness  of  hospitable 
rights;  the  wanderer  who  came  beneath  his  roof,  the  needy 
man  who  asked  a  charitable  alms  of  him,  he  never  sent 
away  unvisited  by  wicked  joke.  I  was  his  Castle  Barber, 
still  a  willing  instrument,  and  did  whatever  pleased  him. 
Many  a  pious  pilgrim,  journeying  past  us,  I  allured  with 
friendly  speeches  to  the  hall  ;  prepared  the  bath  for  him, 
and  when  he  thought  to  take  good  comfort,  shaved  him 
smooth  and  bald,  and  packed  him  out  of  doors.  Then 
would  Count  Hardman,  looking  from  the  window,  see  with 
pleasure  how  the  foxes'  whelps  of  children  gathered  from 
the  hamlet  to  assail  the  outcast,  and  to  cry,  as  once  their  fel- 
lows to  Elijah,  "  Baldhead  !  Baldhead  !  "  In  this  the  scof- 
fer took  his  pleasure,  laughing  with  a  devilish  joy,  till  he 
would  hold  his  pot-paunch,  and  his  eyes  ran  down  with 
water. 

"  Once  came  a  saintly  man,  from  foreign  lands  ;  he  car- 
ried, like  a  penitent,  a  heavy  cross  upon  his  shoulder,  and 
had  stamped  five  nail-marks  on  his  hands,  and  feet,  and 
side  ;  upon  his  head  there  was  a  ring  of  hair  like  to  the 
Crown  of  Thorns.  He  called  upon  us  here,  requesting 
water  for  his  feet,  and  a  small  crust  of  bread.  Immediately 
I  took  him  to  the  bath  to  serve  him  in  my  common  way  ; 
respecting  not  the  sacred  ring,  but  shore  it  clean  from  off 
him.  Then  the  pious  pilgrim  spoke  a  heavy  malison  upon 
me  :  c  Know,  accursed  man,  that,  when  thou  diest,  Heaven, 
and  Hell,  and  Purgatory's  iron  gate,  [are  shut  against  thy 
soul.  As  goblin  it  shall  rage  within  these  walls,  till  un- 
required, unhid,  a  traveller  come  and  exercise  retaliation  on 
thee.' 

"  That   hour  I   sickened,  and  the  marrow  in  my   bones 


64  MUSAEUS. 

dried  up  ;  I  faded  like  a  shadow.  My  spirit  left  the  wasted 
carcass,  and  was  exiled  to  this  Castle,  as  the  saint  had 
doomed  it.  In  vain  I  struggled  for  deliverance  from  the 
torturing  bonds  that  fettered  me  to  Earth  ;  for  thou  must 
know,  that,  when  the  soul  forsakes  her  clay,  she  panteth  for 
her  place  of  rest,  and  this  sick  longing  spins  her  years  to 
aeons,  while  in  foreign  element  she  languishes  for  home. 
Now  self-tormenting,  I  pursued  the  mournful  occupation  I 
had  followed  in  my  lifetime.  Alas!  my  uproar  soon  made 
desolate  this  house  !  But  seldom  came  a  pilgrim  here  to 
lodge.  And  though  I  treated  all  like  thee,  no  one  would 
understand  me,  and  perform,  as  thou,  the  service  which  has 
freed  my  soul  from  bondage.  Henceforth  shall  no  hobgob- 
lin wander  in  this  Castle ;  I  return  to  my  long-wished-for 
rest.  And  now,  young  stranger,  once  again  my  thanks, 
that  thou  hast  loosed  me  !  Were  I  keeper  of  deep-hidden 
treasures,  they  were  thine  ;  but  wealth  in  life  was  not  my 
lot,  nor  in  this  Castle  4ies  there  any  cash  entombed.  Yet 
mark  my  counsel.  Tarry  here  till  beard  and  locks  again 
shall  cover  chin  and  scalp  ;  then  turn  thee  homewards  to  thy 
native  town  ;  and  on  the  Weser-bridge  of  Bremen,  at  the 
time  when  day  and  night  in  Autumn  are  alike,  wait  for  a 
Friend,  who  there  will  meet  thee,  who  will  tell  thee  what  to 
do,  that  it  be  well  with  thee  on  earth.  If  from  the  golden 
horn  of  plenty  blessing  and  abundance  flow  to  thee,  then 
think  of  me  ;  and  ever  as  the  day  thou  freedst  me  from  the 
curse  comes  round,  cause  for  my  soul's  repose  three  masses 
to  be  said.  Now  fare  thee  well.  I  go,  no  more  return- 
ing."* 

With  these  words  the   Ghost,  having  by  his  copiousness 

*  I  know  not  whether  the  reader  has  observed  that  our  Author 
makes  the  Spectre  speak  in  iambics,  a  whim  which  here  and  there 
come6  over  him  in  other  tales  also. —  Wieland, 


DUMB    LOVE. 


65 


of  talk  satisfactorily  attested  his  former  existence  as  court- 
barber  in  the  Castle  of  Rummelsburg,  vanished  into  air, 
and  left  his  deliverer  full  of  wonder  at  the  strange  adven- 
ture. He  stood  for  a  long  while  motionless;  in  doubt  whether 
the  whole  matter  had  actually  happened,  or  an  unquiet 
dream  had  deluded  his  senses  ;  but  his  bald  head  convinced 
him  that  here  had  been  a  real  occurrence.  He  returned  to 
bed,  and  slept, after  the  fright  he  had  undergone,  till  the  hour 
of  noon.  The  treacherous  Landlord  had  been  watching 
since  morning,  when  the  traveller  with  the  scalp  was  to 
come  forth,  that  he  might  receive  him  with  jibing  speeches 
under  pretext  of  astonishment  at  his  nocturnal  adventure. 
But  as  the  stranger  loitered  too  long,  and  mid-day  was  ap- 
proaching, the  affair  became  serious  ;  and  Mine  Host  began  to 
dread  that  the  Goblin  might  have  treated  his  guest  a  little 
harshly,  have  beaten  him  to  a  jelly  perhaps,  or  so  frightened 
him  that  he  had  died  of  terror ;  and  to  carry  his  wanton 
revenge  to  such  a  length  as  this  had  not  been  his  intention. 
He  therefore  rung  his  people  together,  hastened  out  with 
man  and  maid  to  the  tower,  and  reached  the  door  of  the 
apartment  where  he  had  observed  the  light  on  the  previous 
evening.  He  found  an  unknown  key  in  the  lock  ;  but  the 
door  was  barred  within,  for,  after  the  disappearance  of  the 
Goblin,  Franz  had  again  secured  it.  He  knocked  with  a 
perturbed  violence,  till  the  Seven  Sleepers  themselves  would 
have  awoke  at  the  din.  Franz  started  up,  and  thought,  in 
his  first  confusion,  that  the  Ghost  was  again  standing  at  the 
door,  to  favor  him  with  another  call.  But  hearing  Mine 
Host's  voice,  who  required  nothing  more  but  that  his  guest 
would  give  some  sign  of  life,  he  gathered  himself  up  and 
opened  the  room. 

With   seeming  horror  at  the  sight  of  him,  Mine   Host, 
striking  his  hands  together,  exclaimed,  "  By   Heaven   and 
all  the  saints  !    Redcloak "  (by  this  name  the  Ghost  was 
6* 


66 


MUSAETJS. 


known  among  them)  "  has  been  here,  and  has  shaved  you 
bald  as  a  block  !  Now,  it  is  clear  as  day  that  the  old 
story  is  no  fable.  But  tell  me  how  looked  the  Goblin  ?  what 
did  he  say  to  you  ?  what  did  he  do  ?  " 

Franz,  who  had  now  seen  through  the  questioner,  made 
answer.  "  The  Goblin  looked  like  a  man  in  a  red  cloak  ; 
what  he  did  is  not  hidden  from  you,  and  what  he  said  I 
well  remember.  '  Stranger,'  said  he,  4  trust  no  innkeeper 
who  is  a  Turk  in  grain.  What  would  befall  thee  here  he 
knew.  Be  wise  and  happy.  I  withdraw  from  this  my  an- 
cient dwelling,  for  my  time  is  run.  Henceforth  no  goblin 
riots  here  ;  I  now  become  a  silent  Incubus,  to  plague  the 
Landlord  ;  nip  him,  tweak  him,  harass  him,  unless  the  Turk 
do  expiate  his  sin  ;  do  freely  give  thee  prog  and  lodging  till 
brown  locks  again  shall  cluster  round  thy  head.'  "* 

The  Landlord  shuddered  at  these  words,  cut  a  large  cross 
in  the  air  before  him,  vowed  by  the  Holy  Virgin  to  give  the 
traveller  free  board  so  long  as  he  liked  to  continue,  led  him 
over  to  his  house,  and  treated  him  with  the  best.  By  this 
adventure  Franz  had  well  nigh  got  the  reputation  of  a  con- 
juror, as  the  spirit  thenceforth  never  once  showed  face.  He 
often  passed  the  night  in  the  tower  ;  and  a  desperado  of  the 
village  once  kept  him  company,  without  having  beard  or 
scalp  disturbed.  The  owner  of  the  place,  having  learned 
that  Redcloak  no  longer  walked  in  Rummelsburg,  was,  of 
course,  delighted  at  the  news,  and  ordered  that  the  stranger, 
who,  as  he  supposed,  had  laid  him,  should  be  well  taken 
care  of. 

By  the  time  when  the  clusters  were  beginning  to  be 
colored  on  the  vine,  and  the  advancing  autumn  reddened 
the  apples,  Franz's  brown  locks  were  again  curling  over  his 

*  Here,  too,  on  the  Spectre's  score,  Franz  makes  extempore 
iambics.  —  Wieland. 


DUMB    LOVE.  67 

temples,  and  he  girded  up  his  knapsack  ;  for  all  his  thoughts 
and  meditations  were  turned  upon  the  Weser-bridge,  to  seek 
the  Friend,  who,  at  the  behest  of  the  Goblin  Barber, 
was  to  direct  him  how  to  make  his  fortune.  When  about 
taking  leave  of  Mine  Host,  that  charitable  person  led  from 
his  stable  a  horse  well  saddled  and  equipt,  which  the  owner 
of  the  Castle  had  presented  to  the  stranger,  for  having  made 
his  house  again  habitable  ;  nor  had  the  Count  forgot  to  send 
a  sufficient  purse  along  with  it,  to  bear  its travellicg  charges  ; 
and  so  Franz  came  riding  back  into  his  native  city,  brisk 
and  light  of  heart,  as  he  had  ridden  out  of  it  twelve  months 
ago.  He  sought  out  his  old  quarters  in  the  alley,  but  kept 
himself  quite  still  and  retired  ;  only  inquiring  underhand 
how  matters  stood  with  the  fair  Meta,  whether  she  was  still 
alive  and  unwedded.  To  this  inquiry  he  received  a  satisfac- 
tory answer,  and  contented  himself  with  it  in  the  mean- 
while ;  for,  till  his  fate  were  decided,  he  would  not  risk 
appearing  in  her  sight,  or  making  known  to  her  his  arrival 
in  Bremen. 

With  unspeakable  longing,  he  waited  the  equinox  ;  his 
impatience  made  every  intervening  day  a  year.  At  last  the 
long-wished-for  term  appeared.  The  night  before,  he  could 
not  close  an  eye,  for  thinking  of  the  wonders  that  were 
coming.  The  blood  was  whirling  and  beating  in  his  arte- 
ries, as  it  had  done  at  the  Castle  of  Rummelsburg,  when  he 
lay  in  expectation  of  his  spectre  visitant.  To  be  sure  of 
not  missing  his  expected  Friend,  he  rose  by  day-break,  and 
proceeded  with  the  earliest  dawn  to  the  Weser-bridge,  which 
as  yet  stood  empty,  and  untrod  by  passengers.  He  walked 
along  it  several  times  in  solitude,  with  that  presentiment  of 
coming  gladness,  which  includes  in  it  the  real  enjoyment  of  all 
terrestrial  felicity  ;  for  it  is  not  the  attainment  of  our  wishes, 
but  the  undoubted  hope  of  attaining  them,  which  offers  to 
the  human  soul  the  full  measure  of  highest  and  most  heart- 


6S 


MUSAEUS. 


felt  satisfaction.  He  formed  many  projects  as  to  how  he 
should  present  himself  to  his  beloved  Meta,  when  his  look- 
ed-for  happiness  should  have  arrived  ;  whether  it  would  be 
better  to  appear  before  her  in  full  splendor,  or  to  mount 
from  his  former  darkness  with  the  first  gleam  of  morning 
radiance,  and  discover  to  her  by  degrees  the  change  in  his 
condition.  Curiosity,  moreover,  put  a  thousand  questions  to 
Reason  in  regard  to  the  adventure.  Who  can  the  Friend 
be  that  is  t<a  meet  me  on  the  Weser-bridge  ?  Will  it  be  one 
of  my  old  acquaintances,  by  whom,  since  my  ruin,  I  have 
been  entirely  forgotten  ?  How  will  he  pave  the  way  to  me 
for  happiness  ?  And  will  this  way  be  short  or  long,  easy 
or  toilsome  ?  To  the  whole  of  which  Reason,  in  spite  of 
all  her  thinking  and  speculating,  answered  not  a  word. 

In  about  an  hour,  the  Bridge  began  to  get  awake  ;  there 
was  riding,  driving,  walking  to  and  fro  on  it ;  and  much 
commercial  ware  passing  this  way  and  that.  The  usual 
day-guard  of  beggars  and  importunate  persons  also  by  de- 
grees took  up  this  post,  so  favorable  for  their  trade,  to  levy 
contributions  on  the  public  benevolence  ;  for  of  poor-houses 
and  work-houses,  the  wisdom  of  the  legislature  had  as  yet 
formed  no  scheme.  The  first  of  the  tattered  cohort  that 
applied  for  alms  to  the  jovial  promenader,  from  whose  eyes 
gay  hope  laughed  forth,  was  a  discharged  soldier,  provided 
with  the  military  badge  of  a  timber  leg,  which  had  been 
lent  him,  seeing  he  had  fought  so  stoutly  in  former  days  for 
his  native  country,  as  the  recompense  of  his  valor,  with  the 
privilege  of  begging  where  he  pleased  ;  and  who  now,  in 
the  capacity  of  physiognomist,  pursued  the  study  of  man 
upon  the  Weser-bridge,  with  such  success  that  he  very  sel- 
dom failed  in  his  attempts  for  charity.  Nor  did  his  explo- 
ratory glance  in  anywise  mislead  him  in  the  present  instance  ; 
for  Franz,  in  the  joy  of  his  heart,  threw  a  white  engelgros- 
chen  into  the  cripple's  hat. 


DUMB    LOVE.  69 

During  the  morning  hours,  when  none  but  the  laborious 
artisan  is  busy,  and  the  more  exalted  townsman  still  lies  in 
sluggish  rest,  he  scarcely  looked  for  his  promised  Friend  ; 
he  expected  him  in  the  higher  classes,  and  took  little  notice 
of  the  present  passengers.  About  the  council-hour,  how- 
ever, when  the  Proceres  of  Bremen  were  driving  past  to  the 
hall,  in  their  gorgeous  robes  of  office,  and  about  exchange- 
time,  he  was  all  eye  and  ear  ;  he  spied  the  passengers  from 
afar ;  and  when  a  right  man  came  along  the  bridge,  his 
blood  began  to  flutter,  and  he  thought  here  was  the  creator 
of  his  fortune.  Meanwhile  hour  after  hour  passed  on  ;  the 
sun  rose  high ;  ere  long  the  noontide  brought  a  pause  in 
business ;  the  rushing  crowd  faded  away  ;  and  still  the  ex- 
pected Friend  appeared  not.  Franz  now  walked  up  and 
down  the  Bridge  quite  alone  ;  had  no  society  in  view  but 
the  beggars,  who  were  serving  out  their  cold  collations,  with- 
out moving  from  the  place.  He  made  no  scruple  to  do  the 
same  ;  and,  not  being  furnished  with  provisions,  he  purchas- 
ed some  fruit,  and  took  his  dinner  inter  ambulandum. 

The  whole  club  that  was  dining  on  the  Weser-bridge  had 
remarked  the  young  man,  watching  here  from  early  morn- 
ing till  noon,  without  addressing  any  one,  or  doing  any  sort 
of  business.  They  held  him  to  be  a  lounger ;  and  though 
all  of  them  had  tasted  his  bounty,  he  did  not  escape  their 
critical  remarks.  In  jest,  they  had  named  him  the  Bridge- 
bailiff.  The  physiognomist  with  the  timber-toe,  however, 
noticed  that  his  countenance  was  not  so  gay  as  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  he  appeared  to  be  reflecting  earnestly  on  something  ; 
he  had  drawn  his  hat  close  over  his  face  ;  his  movement 
was  slow  and  thoughtful ;  he  had  nibbled  at  an  apple-rind 
for  some  time,  without  seeming  to  be  conscious  that  he  was 
doing  so.  From  this  appearance  of  affairs,  the  man-spier 
thought  he  might  extract  some  profit;  therefore  he  put  his 
wooden  and  his  living  leg  in  motion,  and  stilted  off  to  the 


70  MUSAEUS. 

other  end  of  the  Bridge,  and  lay  in  wait  for  the  thinker, 
that  he  might  assail  him,  under  the  appearance  of  a  new 
arrival,  for  a  fresh  alms.  This  invention  prospered  to  the 
full  ;  the  musing  philosopher  gave  no  heed  to  the  mendicant, 
put  his  hand  into  his  pocket  mechanically,  and  threw  a  six- 
groat  piece  into  the  fellow's  hat  to  be  rid  of  him. 

In  the  afternoon,  a  thousand  new  faces  once  more  came 
abroad.  The  watcher  was  now  tired  of  his  unknown  Friend's 
delaying,  yet  hope  still  kept  his  attention  on  the  stretch. 
He  stept  into  the  view  of  every  passenger,  hoped  that  one 
of  them  would  clasp  him  in  his  arms;  but  all  proceeded 
coldly  on  their  way  ;  the  most  did  not  observe  him  at  all, 
and  few  returned  his  salute  with  a  slight  nod.  The  sun  was 
already  verging  to  decline,  the  shadows  were  becoming 
longer,  the  crowd  upon  the  Bridge  diminished ;  and  the 
beggar-piquet  by  degrees  drew  back  into  their  barracks  in 
the  Mattenburg.  A  deep  sadness  sank  upon  the  hopeless 
Franz,  when  he  saw  his  expectation  mocked,  and  the  lordly 
prospect,  which  had  lain  before  him  in  the  morning,  vanish 
from  his  eyes  at  evening.  He  fell  into  a  sort  of  sulky  des- 
peration ;  was  on  the  point  of  springing  over  the  parapet, 
and  dashing  himself  down  from  the  Bridge  into  the  river. 
But  the  thought  of  Meta  kept  him  back,  and  induced  him 
to  postpone  his  purpose  till  he  had  seen  her  yet  once  more. 
He  resolved  to  watch  next  day  when  she  should  go  to 
church,  for  the  last  time  to  drink  delight  from  her  looks, 
and  then  forthwith  to  still  his  warm  love  forever  in  the  cold 
stream  of  the  Weser. 

While  about  to  leave  the  Bridge,  he  was  met  by  the 
invalided  pikeman  with  the  wooden  leg,  who,  for  pastime,  had 
been  making  many  speculations  as  to  what  could  be  the 
young  man's  object,  that  had  made  him  watch  upon  the 
Bridge  from  dawn  to  darkness.  He  himself  had  lingered 
beyond  his  usual  time,  that  he  might  wait  him  out ;  but  as 


DUMB    LOVE.  71 

the  matter  hung  too  long  upon  the  pegs,  curiosity  incited 
him  to  turn  to  the  youth  himself,  and  question  him  respect- 
ing it. 

"  No  offence,  young  gentleman,"  said  he;  "allow  me  to 
ask  you  a  question.1' 

Franz,  who  was  not  in  a  very  talking  humor,  and  was 
now  meeting,  from  the  mouth  of  a  cripple,  the  address 
which  he  had  looked  for  with  such  longing  from  a  friend, 
answered  rather  testily  :  "  Well,  then,  what  is  it  ?  Speak, 
old  gray  beard  !  " 

"  We  two,"  said  the  other,  "were  the  first  upon  the  Bridge 
to-day,  and  now,  you  see,  we  are  the  last.  As  to  me  and 
others  of  my  kidney,  it  is  our  vocation  brings  us  hither, 
our  trade  of  alms-gathering;  but  for  you,  in  sooth  you  are 
not  of  our  guild  ;  yet  you  have  watched  here  the  whole 
blessed  day.  Now  I  pray  you,  tell  me,  if  it  is  not  a  secret, 
what  it  is  that  brings  you  hither;  or  what  stone  is  lying  on 
your  heart,  that  you  wished  to  roll  away." 

"  What  good  were  it  to  thee,  old  blade,"  said  Franz 
bitterly,  "  to  know  where  the  shoe  pinches  me,  or  what 
concern  is  lying  on  my  heart  ?  It  will  give  thee  small 
care." 

"  Sir,  I  have  a  kind  wish  towards  you,  because  you 
opened  your  hand  to  me,  and  twice  gave  me  alms,  for 
which  God  reward  you ;  but  your  countenance  at  night 
was  not  so  cheerful  as  in  the  morning,  and  that  grieves  my 
heart." 

The  kindly  sympathy  of  this  old  warrior  pleased  the 
misanthrope,  so  that  he  willingly  pursued  the  conversation. 

"  Why,  then,"  answered  he,  "  if  thou  wouldst  know  what 
has  made  me  battle  here  all  day  with  tedium,  thou  must 
understand  that  I  was  waiting  for  a  Friend,  who  appointed 
me  hither,  and  now  leaves  me  to  expect  in  vain." 

"  Under  favor,'1  answered  Timbertoe,  "  if  I  might  speak 


72  MUSAEUS. 

my  mind,  this  Friend  of  yours,  be  who  he  like,  is  little 
better  than  a  rogue,  to  lead  you  such  a  dance.  If  he  treat- 
ed me  so,  by  my  faith,  his  crown  should  get  acquainted  with 
my  crutch  next  time  we  met.  If  he  could  not  keep  his 
word,  he  should  have  let  you  know,  and  not  bamboozled 
you  as  if  you  were  a  child." 

"  Yet  I  cannot  altogether  blame  this  Friend,"  said  Franz, 
"  for  being  absent;  he  did  not  promise;  it  was  but  a  dream 
that  told  me  I  should  meet  him  here." 

The  goblin  tale  was  loo  long  for  him  to  tell,  so  he  veiled 
it  under  cover  of  a  dream. 

"Ah!  that  is  another  story,"  said  the  beggar;  "if  you 
build  on  dreams,  it  is  little  wonder  that  your  hope  deceives 
you.  I  myself  have  dreamed  much  foolish  stuff  in  my 
time;  but  I  was  never  such  a  madman  as  to  heed  it.  Had 
I  all  the  treasures  that  have  been  allotted  to  me  in  dreams, 
I  might  buy  the  city  of  Bremen,  were  it  sold  by  auction. 
But  I  never  credited  a  jet  of  them,  or  stirred  hand  or  foot 
to  prove  their  worth  or  worlhlessness  ;  I  knew  well  it  would 
be  lost.  Ha  !  I  must  really  laugh  in  your  face,  to  think,  that, 
on  the  order  of  an  empty  dream,  you  have  squandered  a 
fair  day  of  your  life,  which  you  might  have  spent  better  at 
a  merry  banquet." 

"  The  issue  shows  that  thou  art  right,  old  man,  and  that 
dreams  many  times  deceive.  But,"  continued  Franz,  defen- 
sively, "  I  dreamed  so  vividly  and  circumstantially,  above 
three  months  ago,  that  on  this  very  day,  in  this  very  place, 
I  should  meet  a  Friend,  who  would  tell  me  things  of  the 
deepest  importance,  that  it  was  well  worth  while  to  go  and 
see  if  it  would  come  to  pass." 

"O,  as  for  vividness,"  said  Timbertoe,  "  no  man  can 
dream  more  vividly  than  I.  There  is  one  dream  I  had, 
which  I  shall  never  in  my  life  forget.  I  dreamed,  who 
knows  how  many  years  ago,  that  my  Guardian  Angel  stood 


DUMB    LOVE.  73 

before  my  bed  in  the  figure  of  a  youth,  with  golden  hair, 
and  two  silver  wings  on  his  back,  and  said  to  me  :  '  Berthold, 
listen  to  the  words  of  my  mouth,  that  none  of  them  be  lost 
from  thy  heart.  There  is  a  treasure  appointed  thee,  which 
thou  shalt  dig,  to  comfort  thy  heart  withal  for  the  remaining 
days  of  thy  life.  To-morrow,  about  evening,  when  the  sun 
is  going  down,  take  spade  and  shovel  on  thy  shoulder ;  go 
forth  from  the  Mattenburg  on  the  right,  across  the  Tieber, 
by  the  Balkenbrucke,  past  the  Cloister  of  St.  John's,  and  on 
to  the  Great  Roland.*  Then  take  thy  way  over  the  Court 
of  the  Cathedral,  through  the  Schiisselkorb,  till  thou  arrive 
without  the  city  at  a  garden,  which  has  this  mark,  that  a 
stair  of  three  stone  steps  leads  down  from  the  highway  to 
its  gate.  Wait  by  a  side,  in  secret,  till  the  sickle  of  the 
moon  shall  shine  on  thee,  then  push  with  the  strength  of  a 
man  against  the  weak-barred  gate,  which  will  resist  thee 
little.  Enter  boldly  into  the  garden,  and  turn  thee  to  the 
vine  trellises  which  overhang  the  covered-walk;  behind 
this,  on  the  left,  a  tall  apple-tree  overtops  the  lowly  shrubs. 
Go  to  the  trunk  of  this  tree,  thy  face  turned  right  against 
the  moon  ;  look  three  ells  before  thee  on  the  ground,  thou 
shalt  see  two  cinnamon-rose  bushes;  there  strike  in,  and 
dig  three  spans  deep,  till  thou  find  a  stone  plate  ;  under  this 
lies  the  treasure,  buried  in  an  iron  chest,  full  of  money, 
and  money's  worth.  Though  the  chest  be  heavy  and 
clumsy,  avoid  not  the  labor  of  lifting  it  from  its  bed  ;  it  will 

*  The  rude  figure  of  a  man  in  armor,  usually  erected  in  the 
public  square  or  market-place  of  old  German  towns,  is  called  the 
Roland  slule,  or  Rutlandslule,  from  its  supposed  reference  to  Roland 
the  famous  Peer  of  Charlemagne.  The  proper  and  ancient  name, 
it  seems,  is  Rug elands lule,  or  Pillar  of  Judgment;  and  the  stone 
indicated,  of  old,  that  the  town  possessed  an  independent  jurisdic- 
tion. —  Ed. 

VOL.  I.  7 


74 


MUSAEUS. 


reward  thy  trouble  well,  if  thou  seek  the  key  which  lies  hid 
beneath  it.'  " 

In  astonishment  at  what  he  heard,  Franz  stared  and 
gazed  upon  the  dreamer,  and  could  not  have  concealed  his 
amazement,  had  not  the  dusk  of  night  been  on  his  side.  By 
every  mark  in  the  description,  he  had  recognised  his  own 
garden,  left  him  by  his  father.  It  had  been  the  good  man's 
hobby  in  his  life  ;  but  on  this  account  had  little  pleased  his 
son  ;  according  to  the  rule  that  son  and  father  seldom  sym- 
pathize in  their  favorite  pursuit,  unless  indeed  it  be  a  vice, 
in  which  case,  as  the  adage  runs,  the  apple  often  falls  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  trunk.  Father  Melchior  had  him- 
self laid  out  this  garden,  altogether  to  his  own  taste,  in  a 
style  as  wonderful  and  varied  as  that  of  his  great-great- 
grandson,  who  has  immortalized  his  paradise  by  an  original 
description  in  Hirschfeld',s  Garden- Calendar.  He  had  not, 
it  is  true,  set  up  in  it  any  painted  menagerie  for  the  decep- 
tion of  the  eye  ;  but  he  kept  a  very  large  one,  notwithstand- 
ing, of  springing-horses,  winged-lions,  eagles,  griffins,  uni- 
corns, and  other  wondrous  beasts,  all  stamped  on  pure  gold, 
which  he  carefully  concealed  from  every  eye,  and  had  hid  in 
their  iron  case  beneath  the  ground.  This  paternal  Tempe 
the  wasteful  son,  in  the  days  of  his  extravagance,  had  sold 
for  an  old  song. 

To  Franz,  the  pikeman  had  at  once  become  extremely 
interesting,  as  he  perceived  that  this  was  the  very  Friend 
to  whom  the  Goblin  in  the  Castle  of  Rummelsburg  had  con- 
signed him.  Gladly  could  he  have  embraced  the  veteran, 
and  in  the  first  rapture  called  him  friend  and  father;  but  he 
restrained  himself,  and  found  it  more  advisable  to  keep  his 
thoughts  about  this  piece  of  news  to  himself.  So  he  said  : 
11  Well,  this  is  what  I  call  a  circumstantial  dream.  But 
what  didst  thou  do,  old  master,  in  the  morning,  on  awak- 
ening ?  Didst  thou  not  follow  whither  thy  Guardian  Angel 
beckoned  thee  ?  " 


DUMB    LOVE.  75 

"  Pooh,"  said  the  dreamer,  "  why  should  I  toil,  and  have 
my  labor  for  my  pains  ?  It  was  nothing,  after  all,  but  a 
mere  dream.  If  my  Guardian  Angel  had  a  fancy  for  ap- 
pearing to  me,  I  have  had  enow  of  sleepless  nights  in  my 
time,  when  he  might  have  found  me  waking.  But  he  takes 
little  charge  of  me,  I  think,  else  I  should  not,  to  his  shame, 
be  going  hitching  here  on  a  wooden  leg." 

Franz  took  out  the  last  piece  of  silver  he  had  on  him. 
"  There,"  said  he,  "  old  Father,  take  this  other  gift  from 
me,  to  get  thee  a  pint  of  wine  for  evening-cup  ;  thy  talk 
has  scared  away  my  ill  humor.  Neglect  not  diligently  to 
frequent  this  Bridge  ;  we  shall  see  each  other  here,  I  hope, 
again." 

The  lame  old  man  had  not  gathered  so  rich  a  stock  of 
alms  for  many  a  day,  as  he  was  now  possessed  of;  he 
blessed  his  benefactor  for  his  kindness,  hopped  away  into  a 
drinking-shop,  to  do  himself  a  good  turn  ;  while  Franz, 
enlivened  with  new  hope,  hastened  off  to  his  lodging  in  the 
alley. 

Next  day  he  got  in  readiness  everything  that  is  required 
for  treasure-digging.  The  unessential  equipments,  con- 
jurations, magic-formulas,  magic-girdles,  hieroglyphic  char- 
acters, and  such  like,  were  entirely  wanting ;  but  these  are 
not  indispensable,  provided  there  be  no  failure  in  the  three 
main  requisites  :  shovel,  spade,  and,  before  all  —  a  treasure 
under  ground.  The  necessary  implements  he  carried  to 
the  place  a  little  before  sunset,  and  hid  them  for  the  mean- 
while in  a  hedge  ;  and  as  to  the  treasure  itself,  he  had  the 
firm  conviction  that  the  Goblin  in  the  Castle,  and  the  Friend 
on  the  Bridge,  would  prove  no  liars  to  him.  With  longing 
impatience  he  expected  the  rising  of  the  moon  ;  and  no 
sooner  did  she  stretch  her  silver  horns  over  the  bushes, 
than  he  briskly  set  to  work  ;  observing  exactly  every- 
thing the    Invalid    had    taught    him  ;  and    happily    accom- 


76 


MUFAEUS. 


plislied  the  raising  of  the  treasure,  without  meeting  any 
adventure  in  the  process;  without  any  black  dog  having 
frightened  him,  or  any  bluish  flame  having  lighted  him  to 
the  spot. 

Father  Melchior,  in  providently  burying  this  penny  for 
a  rainy  day,  had  nowise  meant  that  his  son  should  be  de- 
prived of  so  considerable  a  part  of  his  inheritance.  The 
mistake  lay  in  this,  that  Death  had  escorted  the  testator  out  of 
the  world  in  another  way  than  said  testator  had  expected. 
He  had  been  completely  convinced  that  he  should  take  his 
journey,  old  and  full  of  days,  after  regulating  his  temporal 
concerns  with  all  the  formalities  of  an  ordinary  sick-bed  ; 
for  so  it  had  been  prophesied  to  him  in  his  youth.  In  con- 
sequence he  purposed,  when,  according  to  the  usage  of  the 
Church,  extreme  unction  should  have  been  dispensed  to 
him,  to  call  his  beloved  son  to  his  bed-side,  having  previous- 
ly dismissed  all  bystanders;  there  to  give  him  the  paternal 
blessing,  and  by  way  of  farewell  memorial  direct  him  to 
this  treasure  buried  in  the  garden.  All  this,  too,  would 
have  happened  in  just  order,  if  the  light  of  the  good  old 
man  had  departed  like  that  of  a  wick  whose  oil  is  done  ; 
but  as  Death  had  privily  snuffed  him  out  at  a  feast,  he  un- 
designedly took  along  with  him  his  Mammon  secret  to  the 
grave  ;  and  almost  as  many  fortunate  concurrences  were 
required  before  the  secreted  patrimony  could  arrive  at  the 
proper  heir,  as  if  it  had  been  forwarded  to  its  address  by  the 
hand  of  Justice  itself. 

With  immeasurable  joy  the  treasure-digger  took  posses- 
sion of  the  shapeless  Spanish  pieces,  which,  with  a  vast 
multitude  of  other  finer  coins,  the  iron  chest  had  faithfully 
preserved.  When  the  first  intoxication  of  delight  had  in 
some  degree  evaporated,  he  bethought  him  how  the  treasure 
was  to  be  transported,  safe  and  unobserved,  into  the  narrow 
alley.     The  burden  was  too  heavy  to   be    carried    without 


DUMB    LOVE.  77 

help  ;  thus,  with  the  possession  of  riches,  all  the  cares 
attendant  on  them  were  awakened.  The  new  Croesus  found 
no  better  plan  than  to  intrust  his  capital  to  the  hollow  trunk 
of  a  tree  that  stood  behind  the  garden,  in  a  meadow  ;  the 
empty  chest  he  again  buried  under  the  rose-bush,  and 
smoothed  the  place  as  well  as  possible.  In  the  space  of 
three  days,  the  treasure  had  been  faithfully  transmitted  by 
instalments  from  the  hollow  tree  into  the  narrow  alley  ;  and 
now  the  owner  of  it  thought  he  might  with  honor  lay 
aside  his  strict  incognito.  He  dressed  himself  with  the 
finest ;  had  his  Prayer  displaced  from  the  church  ;  and  re- 
quired, instead  of  it,  "  a  Christian  Thanksgiving  for  a 
Traveller,  on  returning  to  his  native  town,  after  happily 
arranging  his  affairs."  He  hid  himself  in  a  corner  of  the 
church,  where  he  could  observe  the  fair  Meta,  without  him- 
self being  seen  ;  he  turned  not  his  eye  from  the  maiden, 
and  drank  from  her  looks  the  actual  rapture  which  in  fore- 
taste had  restrained  him  from  the  break-neck  somerset  on 
the  Bridge  of  the  Weser.  When  the  Thanksgiving  came 
in  hand,  a  glad  sympathy  shone  forth  from  all  her  features, 
and  the  cheeks  of  the  virgin  glowed  with  joy.  The  custom- 
ary greeting  on  the  way  homewards  was  so  full  of  em- 
phasis, that,  even  to  the  third  party  who  had  noticed  them, 
it  would  have  been  intelligible. 

Franz  now  appeared  once  more  on  the  Exchange ;  be- 
gan a  branch  of  trade,  which  in  a  few  weeks  extended  to 
the  great  scale  ;  and  as  his  wealth  became  daily  more  ap- 
parent, Neighbor  Grudge,  the  scandal-chewer,  was  obliged 
to  conclude,  that,  in  the  cashing  of  his  old  debts,  he  must 
have  had  more  luck  than  sense.  He  hired  a  large  house, 
fronting  the  Roland,  in  the  Market-place  ;  engaged  clerks 
and  warehousemen,  and  carried  on  his  trade  unweariedly. 
Now  the  sorrowful  populace  of  parasites  again  diligently 
handled  the  knocker  of  his  door  ;  appeared  in  crowds,  and 
7* 


78  MUSAEUS. 

suffocated  him  with  assurances  of  friendship,  and  joy-wish- 
ings  on  his  fresh  prosperity  ;  imagined  they  should  once 
more  catch  him  in  their  robber  claws.  But  experience  had 
taught  him  wisdom  ;  he  paid  them  in  their  own  coin,  feasted 
their  false  friendship  on  smooth  words,  and  dismissed  them 
with  fasting  stomachs  ;  which  sovereign  means  for  scaring  off 
the  cumbersome  brood  of  pickthanks  and  toadeaters  pro- 
duced the  intended  effect,  that  they  betook  them  else- 
whither. 

In  Bremen,  the  remounting  Melcherson  had  become  the 
story  of  the  day  ;  the  fortune  which  in  some  inexplicable 
manner  he  had  realized,  as  was  supposed,  in  foreign  parts, 
was  the  subject-matter  of  all  conversations  at  formal  dinners, 
in  the  Courts  of  Justice,  and  at  the  Exchange.  But  in  pro- 
portion as  the  fame  of  his  fortune  and  affluence  increased, 
the  contentedness  and  peace  of  mind  of  the  fair  Meta 
diminished.  The  friend  in  petto  was  now,  in  her  opinion, 
well  qualified  to  speak  a  plain  word.  Yet  still  his  Love 
continued  Dumb  ;  and  except  the  greeting  on  the  way  from 
church,  he  gave  no  tidings  of  himself.  Even  this  sort  of 
visit  was  becoming  rarer  ;  and  such  aspects  were  the  sign 
not  of  warm,  but  of  cold  weather  in  the  atmosphere  of 
Love.  Jealousy,  *  the  baleful  Harpy,  fluttered  round  her 
little  room  by  night,  and  when  sleep  was  closing  her  blue 
eyes,  croaked  many  a  dolorous  presage  into  the  ear  of  the 
re-awakened  Meta.  "  Forego  the  flattering  hope  of  binding 
an  inconstant  heart,  which,  like  a  feather,  is  the  sport  of  every 
wind.  He  loved  thee,  and  was  faithful  to  thee,  while  his 
lot  was  as  thy  own  ;  like  only  draws  to  like.  Now  a 
propitious  destiny  exalts  the  Changeful  far  above  thee.     Ah  ! 

*  Jealousy,  too,  (at  bottom  a  very  sad  spectre,  but  not  here  in- 
troduced as  one,)  now  croaks  in  iambics,  as  the  Goblin  Barber  late- 
ly spoke  in  them.  —  Wieland. 


DUMB    LOVE.  79 

now  he  scorns  the  truest  thoughts  in  mean  apparel,  now 
that  pomp,  and  wealth,  and  splendor  dazzle  him  once  more ; 
and  courts,  who  knows  what  haughty  fair  one  that  disdain- 
ed him  when  he  lay  among  the  pots,  and  now  with  siren 
call  allures  him  back  to  her.  Perhaps  her  cozening  voice 
has  turned  him  from  thee,  speaking  with  false  words  :  l  For 
thee,  God's  garden  blossoms  in  thy  native  town  ;  friend, 
thou  hast  now  thy  choice  of  all  our  maidens  ;  choose  with 
prudence,  not  by  the  eye  alone.  Of  girls  are  many,  and 
of  fathers  many,  who  in  secret  lie  in  wait  for  thee ;  none 
will  withhold  his  darling  daughter.  Take  happiness  and 
honor  with  the  fairest  ;  likewise  birth  and  fortune.  The 
councillor  dignity  awaits  thee,  where  vote  of  friends  is  po- 
tent in  the  city.' " 

These  suggestions  of  Jealousy  disturbed  and  tormented 
her  heart  without  ceasing  ;  she  reviewed  her  fair  contem- 
poraries in  Bremen,  estimated  the  ratio  of  so  many  splendid 
matches  to  herself  and  her  circumstances  ;  and  the  result 
was  far  from  favorable.  The  first  tidings  of  her  lover's 
change  of  situation  had  in  secret  charmed  her;  not  in  the 
selfish  view  of  becoming  participatress  in  a  large  fortune  ; 
but  for  her  mother's  sake,  who  had  abdicated  all  hopes  of 
earthly  happiness,  ever  since  the  marriage  project  with 
neighbor  Hop-King  had  made  shipwreck.  But  now  poor 
Meta  wished  that  Heaven  had  not  heard  the  Prayer  of  the 
Church,  or  granted  to  the  traveller  any  such  abundance  of 
success  ;  but  rather  kept  him  by  the  bread  and  salt,  which 
he  would  willingly  have  shared  with  her. 

The  fair  half  of  the  species  are  by  no  means  calculated 
to  conceal  an  inward  care.  Mother  Brigitta  soon  observed 
the  trouble  of  her  daughter;  and  without  the  use  of  any 
great  penetration,  likewise  guessed  its  cause.  The  talk 
about  the  reascending  star  of  her  former  flax-negotiator, 
who  was  now  celebrated  as  the  pattern  of  an  orderly,  judici- 


80  MUSAEUS. 

ous,  active  tradesman,  had  not  escaped  her,  any  more  than 
the  feeling  of  the  good  Meta  towards  him  ;  and  it  was  her 
opinion,  that,  if  he  loved  in  earnest,  it  was  needless  to  hang 
off  so  long,  without  explaining  what  he  meant.  Yet  out  of 
tenderness  to  her  daughter,  she  let  no  hint  of  this  discovery 
escape  her;  till  at  length  poor  Meta's  heart  became  so  full, 
that  of  her  own  accord  she  made  her  mother  the  confident 
of  her  sorrow,  and  disclosed  to  her  its  true  origin.  The 
shrewd  old  lady  learned  little  more  by  this  disclosure  than 
she  knew  already.  But  it  afforded  opportunity  to  mother 
and  daughter  for  a  full,  fair,  and  free  discussion  of  this  del- 
icate affair.  Brigitta  made  her  no  reproaches  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  she  believed  that  what  was  done  could  not  be  undone  ; 
and  directed  all  her  eloquence  to  strengthen  and  encourage 
the  dejected  Meta  to  bear  the  failure  of  her  hopes  with  a 
steadfast  mind. 

With  this  view,  she  spelt  out  to  her  the  extremely  reason- 
able moral  a,  Z>,  ah;  discoursing  thus:  "  My  child,  thou 
hast  already  said  a,  thou  must  now  say  b  too  ;  thou  hast 
scorned  thy  fortune  when  it  sought  thee,  now  thou  must  sub- 
mit when  it  will  meet  thee  no  longer.  Experience  has 
taught  me  that  the  most  confident  Hope  is  the  first  to  de- 
ceive us.  Therefore,  follow  my  example  ;  abandon  the  fair 
cozener  utterly,  and  thy  peace  of  mind  will  no  longer  be 
disturbed  by  her.  Count  not  on  any  improvement  of  thy 
fate  ;  and  thou  wilt  grow  contented  with  thy  present  situa- 
tion. Honor  the  spinning-wheel,  which  supports  thee  ;  what 
are  fortune  and  riches  to  thee,  when  thou  canst  do  without 
them  ?  " 

Close  on  this  stout  oration  followed  a  loud  humming  sym- 
phony of  snap-reel  and  spinning-wheel,  to  make  up  for  the 
time  lost  in  speaking.  Mother  Brigitta  was  in  truth  philoso- 
phizing from  the  heart.  After  her  scheme  for  the  restora- 
tion of  her  former  affluence  had  gone  to  ruin,  she   had   so 


DUl'3    LOVE.  81 

simplified  the  plan  of  her  life,  that  Fate  could  not  perplex 
it  any  more.  But  Meta  was  still  far  from  this  philosophical 
centre  of  indifference  ;  and  hence  this  doctrine,  consolation, 
and  encouragement,  affected  her  quite  otherwise  than  had 
been  intended  ;  the  conscientious  daughter  now  looked  upon 
herself  as  the  destroyer  of  her  mother's  fair  hopes,  and  suf- 
fered from  her  own  mind  a  thousand  reproaches  for  this 
fault.  Though  she  had  never  adopted  the  maternal  scheme 
of  marriage,  and  had  reckoned  only  upon  bread  and  salt  in 
her  future  wedlock  ;  yet,  on  hearing  of  her  lover's  riches 
and  spreading  commerce,  her  diet-project  had  directly 
mounted  to  six  plates;  and  it  delighted  her  to  think  that  by 
her  choice  she  should  still  realize  her  good  mother's  wish, 
and  see  her  once  more  planted  in  her  previous  abundance. 

This  fair  dream  now  vanished  by  degrees,  as  Franz  con- 
tinued silent.  To  make  matters  worse,  there  spread  a  ru- 
mor over  all  the  city,  that  he  was  furnishing  his  house  in 
the  most  splendid  fashion  for  his  marriage  with  a  rich  Ant- 
werp lady,  who  was  already  OP.  ha.r  way  to  Bremen.  This 
Job's-news  drove  the  lovely  mniden  from  her  last  defence  ; 
she  pasced  on  the  apostate  sentence  of  banishment  from  her 
heart;  and  vowed  from  that  hour  never  more  to  think  of 
him  ;  and  as  she  did  so,  wetted  the  twining  thread  with  her 
tears. 

In  a  heavy  hour  she  was  breaking  this  vow,  and  thinking, 
against  her  will,  of  the  faithless  lover ;  for  she  hr.d  just  spun 
off  a  rock  of  flax  ;  and  there  was  an  old  rhyme  which  had 
been  taught  her  by  her  mother  for  encouragement  to  dil- 
igence : 

Spin,  daughterkin,  spin, 
Thy  sweetheart 's  within  ! 

which  she  always  recollected  whan  her  rock  was  done  ;  and 
along  with  it  the   memory  of  the  Deceitful  necessarily  oc- 


82 


MUSAEUS. 


curred  to  her.  In  this  heavy  hour,  a  finger  rapped  with  a 
most  dainty  patter  at  the  door.  Mother  Brigitta  looked  forth  ; 
the  sweetheart  was  without.  And  who  could  it  be?  Who 
else  but  neighbor  Franz,  from  the  alley  ?  He  had  decked 
himself  with  a  gallant  wooing-suit  ;  and  his  well-dressed, 
thick  brown  locks  shook  forth  perfume.  This  stately  dec- 
oration boded,  at  all  events,  something  else  than  flax-deal- 
ing. Mother  Brigitta  started  in  alarm  ;  she  tried  to  speak, 
but  words  failed  her.  Meta  rose  in  trepidation  from  her 
seat,  blushed  like  a  purple  rose,  and  was  silent.  Franz, 
however,  had  the  power  of  utterance  ;  to  the  soft  adagio 
which  he  had  in  former  days  trilled  forth  to  her,  he  now 
appended  a  suitable  text,  and  explained  his  dumb  love  in 
clear  words.  Thereupon  he  made  solemn  application  for 
her  to  the  mother  ;  justifying  his  proposal  by  the  statement, 
that  the  preparations  in  his  house  had  been  meant  for  the 
reception  of  a  bride,  and  that  this  bride  was  the  charming 
Meta. 

The  pointed  old  lady,  having  brought  her  feelings  once 
more  into  equilibrium,  was  for  protracting  the  affair  to  the 
customary  term  of  eight  days  for  deliberation  ;  though  joy- 
ful tears  were  running  down  her  cheeks,  presaging  no  im- 
pediment on  her  side,  but  rather  answer  of  approval.  Franz, 
however,  was  so  pressing  in  his  suit,  that  she  fell  upon  a 
middle  path  between  the  wooer's  ardor  and  maternal  use 
and  wont,  and  empowered  the  gentle  Meta  to  decide  in  the 
affair  according  to  her  own  good  judgment.  In  the  virgin 
heart  there  had  occurred,  since  Franz's  entrance,  an  impor- 
tant revolution.  His  presence  here  was  the  most  speaking 
proof  of  his  innocence  ;  and  as,  in  the  course  of  conversa- 
tion, it  distinctly  came  to  light,  that  his  apparent  coldness 
had  been  nothing  else  than  zeal  and  diligence  in  putting  his 
commercial  affairs  in  order,  and  preparing  what  was  neces- 
sary for  the  coming  nuptials,  it  followed  that  the   secret  re- 


DUMB    LOVE.  83 

conciliation  would  proceed  forthwith  without  any  stone  of 
stumbling  in  its  way.  She  acted  with  the  outlaw,  as 
Mother  Brigitta  with  her  disposted  spinning  gear,  or  the 
First-born  Son  of  the  Church  with  an  exiled  Parliament ; 
recalled  him  with  honor  to  her  high-beating  heart,  and  rein- 
stated him  in  all  his  former  rights  and  privileges  there.  The 
decisive  three-lettered  little  word  that  ratifies  the  happiness 
of  love,  came  gliding  with  such  unspeakable  grace  from  her 
soft  lips,  that  the  answered  lover  could  not  help  receiving  it 
with  a  warm,  melting  kiss. 

The  tender  pair  had  now  time  and  opportunity  for  deci- 
phering all  the  hieroglyphics  of  their  mysterious  love  ;  which 
afforded  the  most  pleasant  conversation  that  ever  two  lovers 
carried  on.  They  found,  what  our  commentators  ought  to 
pray  for,  that  they  had  always  understood  and  interpreted 
the  text  aright,  without  once  missing  the  true  sense  of  their 
reciprocal  proceedings.  It  cost  the  delighted  bridegroom 
almost  as  great  an  effort  to  part  from  his  charming  bride,  as 
on  the  day  when  he  set  out  on  his  crusade  to  Antwerp. 
However,  he  had  an  important  walk  to  take  ;  so  at  last  it 
became  time  to  withdraw. 

This  walk  was  directed  to  the  Weser-bridge,  to  find  Tim- 
bertoe,  whom  he  had  not  forgotten,  though  he  had  long  delay- 
ed to  keep  his  word  to  him.  Sharply  as  the  physiognomist, 
ever  since  his  interview  with  the  openhanded  Bridge-bailiff, 
had  been  on  the  outlook,  he  could  never  catch  a  glimpse  of 
him  among  the  passengers,  although  a  second  visit  had  been 
faithfully  promised.  Yet  the  figure  of  his  benefactor  had 
not  vanished  from  his  memory.  The  moment  he  perceived 
the  fair-apparelled  youth  from  a  distance,  he  stilted  towards 
him,  and  gave  him  kindly  welcome.  Franz  answered  his 
salutation,  and  said  :  "  Friend,  canst  thou  take  a  walk  with 
me  into  the  Neustadt,  to  transact  a  small  affair?  Thy  trou- 
ble shall  not  be  unpaid." 


84  MUCAEUS. 

"Ah!  why  not?"  replied  the  old  blade;  "though  I 
have  a  wooden  leg,  I  can  step  you  with  it  as  stoutly  as  the 
lame  dwarf  that  crept  round  the  city-common  ;  *  for  the 
wooden  leg,  you  must  know,  has  this  good  property,  it  never 
tires.  But  excuse  mc  a  little  while  till  Graycloak  is  come; 
he  never  misses  to  pass  along  the  Bridge  between  day  and 
night." 

u  What  of  Graycloak  ?  inquired  Franz  ;  "  let  me  know 
about  him." 

"  Graycloak  brings  me  daily  about  nightfall  a  silver  gros- 
chen,  I  know  not  from  whom.  It  is  of  no  use  prying  into 
things,  so  I  never  mind.  Sometimes  it  occurs  to  me  Gray- 
cloak must  be  the  devil,  and  means  to  buy  my  soul  with  the 
money.  But  devil  or  no  devil,  what  care  I?  I  did  not 
strike  him  on  the  bargain,  so  it  cannot  hold." 

"  I  should  not  wonder,"  answered  Franz,  with  a  smile, 
u  if  Graycloak  were  a  piece  of  a  knave.  But  do  thou  fol- 
low me  ;  the  silver  groschen  shall  not  fail  thee." 

Timbertoe  set  fonh,  hitched  on  briskly  after  his  guide, 
who  conducted  him  up  one  street  and  down  another,  to  a 
distant  quarter  of  the  city,  near  the  wall  ;  then  halted  be- 
fore a  neat  little  new-built  house,  and  knocked  at  the  door. 
When  it  was  opened,  "  Friend,"  said  he,  "thou  madest  one 
evening  of  my  life  cheerful ;  it  is  just  that  I  should  make 
the  evening  of  thy  life  cheerful  also.  This  house,  with  its 
appurtenances,  and  the  garden  where  it  stands,  are  thine  ; 
kitchen  and  cellar  are  full ;  an  attendant  is  appointed  to 
wait  upon  thee  ;  and  the  silver  groschen,  over  and  above, 
thou  wilt  find  every  noon  lying  under  thy  plate.     Nor  will  I 

*  There  is  an  old  tradition,  that  a  neighboring  Countess  promised 
in  jest  to  give  the  Bremers  as  much  land  as  a  cripple,  who  was 
just  asking  her  for  alms,  would  creep  round  in  a  day.  They  took 
her  at  her  word  ;  and  the  cripple  crawled  so  well,  that  the  town 
obtained  this  large  common  by  means  of  him. 


du:ib   LOVE.  85 

hide  from  thee  that  Graycloak  was  my  servant,  whom  I  sent 
to  give  thee  daily  an  honorable  alms,  till  [  had  got  this  house 
made  ready  for  thee.  If  thou  like,  thou  mayest  reckon  me 
thy  proper  Guardian  Angel,  since  the  other  has  not  acted  to 
thy  satisfaction."" 

He  then  led  the  old  man  into  his  dwelling,  where  the  table 
was  standing  covered,  and  everything  arranged  for  his  con- 
venience and  comfortable  living.  The  grayhead  was  so  aston- 
ished at  his  fortune,  that  he  could  not  understand  or  even 
believe  it.  That  a  rich  man  should  take  such  pity  on  a 
poor  one  was  incomprehensible  ;  he  felt  disposed  to  take 
the  whole  affair  for  magic  or  jugglery,  till  Franz  removed 
his  doubts.  A  stream  of  thankful  tears  flowed  down  the  old 
man's  cheeks  ;  and  his  benefactor,  satisfied  with  this,  did  not 
wait  till  he  should  recover  from  his  amazement  and  thank 
him  in  words,  but,  after  doing  this  angel-message,  vanished 
from  the  old  man's  eyes,  as  angels  are  wont ;  and  left  him 
to  piece  together  the  affair  as  he  best  could. 

Next  morning,  in  the  habitation  of  the  lovely  Meta,  all 
was  as  a  fair.  Franz  dispatched  to  her  a  crowd  of  mer- 
chants, jewellers,  milliners,  lace-dealers,  tailors,  sutors,  and 
semstresses,  in  part  to  offer  her  all  sorts  of  wares,  in  part 
their  own  good  services.  She  passed  the  whole  day  in 
choosing  stuffs,  laces,  and  other  requisites  for  the  condition 
of  a  bride,  or  being  measured  for  her  various  new  apparel. 
The  dimensions  of  her  dainty  foot,  her  beautifully-formed 
arm,  and  her  slim  waist,  were  as  often  and  as  carefully 
meted  as  if  some  skilful  statuary  had  been  taking  from  her 
the  model  for  a  Goddess  of  Love.  Meanwhile,  the  bride- 
groom went  to  appoint  the  bans  ;  and  before  three  weeks 
were  past,  he  led  his  bride  to  the  altar,  with  a  solemnity  by 
which  even  the  gorgeous  wedding-pomp  of  the  Hop-King 
was  eclipsed.  Mother  Brigitte  had  the  happiness  of  twisting 
the  bridal-garland  for  her  virtuous  Meta  ;  she  completely 

vol.  i.  8 


86  MUSAEUS. 

attained  her  wish  of  spending  her  woman's-summer  in  pro- 
pitious affluence  ;  and  deserved  this  satisfaction,  as  a  recom- 
pense for  one  praiseworthy  quality  which  she  possessed. 
She  was  the  most  tolerable  mother-in-law  that  has  ever  been 
discovered. 


LIBUSSA.  87 

II. 

LIBUSSA.* 

Deep  in  the  Bohemian  forest,  which  has  now  dwindled  to 
a  few   scattered   woodlands,  there   abode,  in   the   primeval 
times,  while  it  stretched  its  umbrage  far   and    wide,  a  spirit- 
ual race  of  beings,  airy  and  avoiding  light,  incorporeal  also, 
more  delicately  fashioned  than  the  clay-formed  sons  of  men  ; 
to   the  coarser  sense   of  feeling  imperceptible,  but  to   the 
finer,   half-visible   by   moon-light;  and  well  known  to  poets 
by  the  name   of  Dryads,  and  to  ancient   bards  by  that  of 
Elves.     From  immemorial  ages,  they  had  dwelt  here  undis- 
turbed ;  till  all  at  once  the   forest  sounded   with  the   din  of 
warriors,  for  Duke   Czech  of  Hungary,  with   his   Sclavonic 
hordes,  had  broken   over   the   mountains,  to   seek  in   these 
wild  tracts  a  new  habitation.     The  fair  tenants  of  the  aged 
oaks,  of  the  rocks,  clefts,  and  grottos,  and  of  the  flags  in 
the  tarns  and   morasses,  fled   before   the  clang  of  arms  and 
the  neighing  of  chargers.    The  stout  Erl-King   himself  was 
annoyed  by  the  uproar,  and  transferred  his  court  to   more 
sequestered  wildernesses.    One  solitary  Elf  could  not  resolve 
to  leave  her  darling  oak  ;  and  as  the   wood   began  here  and 
there  to  be  felled  for  the  purposes  of  cultivation,  she   alone 
undertook  to  defend   her  tree  against  the   violence   of  the 
strangers,  and  chose  the  towering  summit  of  it  for  her  resi- 
dence. 

Among  the   retinue  of  the   Duke  was  a  young  Squire, 

*  From  Jo.  Dubravii  Hlstoria  Bohemica,  and  JEnece,  Sylvii  Cardi- 
nality de  Bohemarum  Origine  ac  gestis  Historia. 


bO  MUSAEUS. 

Krokus  by  name,  full  of  spirit  and  impetuosity ;  stout  and 
handsome,  and  of  noble  mien,  to  whom  the  keeping  of  his 
master's  stud  had  been  intrusted,  which  at  times  he  drove 
far  into  the  forest  for  their  pasture.  Frequently  he  rested 
beneath  the  oak  which  the  Elf  inhabited  ;  she  observed  him 
with  satisfaction  ;  and  at  night,  when  he  was  sleeping  at  the 
root,  she  would  whisper  pleasant  dreams  into  his  ear,  and 
announce  to  him  in  expressive  images  the  events  of  the 
coming  day.  When  any  horse  had  strayed  into  the  desert, 
and  the  keeper  had  lost  its  track,  and  gone  to  sleep  with 
anxious  thoughts,  he  failed  not  to  see  in  vision  the  marks  of 
the  hidden  path,  which  led  him  to  the  spot  where  his  lost 
steed  was  grazing. 

The  farther  the  new  colonists  extended,  the  nearer  came 
they  to  the  dwelling  of  the  Elf;  and  as  by  her  gift  of  divina- 
tion she  perceived  how  soon  her  life-tree  would  be  threaten- 
ed by  the  axe,  she  determined  to  unfold  this  sorrow  to  her 
guest.  One  moonshiny  summer  evening,  Krokus  had 
folded  his  herd  somewhat  later  than  usual,  and  was  hasten- 
ing to  his  bed  under  the  lofty  oak.  His  path  led  him  round 
a  little  fishy  lake,  on  whose  silver  face  the  moon  was  imag- 
ing herself  like  a  gleaming  ball  of  gold  ;  and  across  this 
glittering  portion  of  the  water,  on  the  farther  side,  he  per- 
ceived a  female  form,  apparently  engaged  in  walking  by  the 
cool  shore.  This  sight  surprised  the  young  warrior.  What 
brings  the  maiden  hither,  thought  he,  by  herself,  in  this 
wilderness,  at  the  season  of  the  nightly  dusk  ?  Yet  the  adven- 
ture was  of  such  a  sort,  that  to  a  young  man  the  more  strict  in- 
vestigation of  it  seemed  alluring  rather  than  alarming.  He 
redoubled  his  steps,  keeping  firmly  in  view  the  form  which 
had  arrested  his  attention ;  and  soon  reached  the  place 
where  he  had  first  noticed  it,  beneath  the  oak.  But.  now  it 
looked  to  him  as  if  the  thing  he  saw  were  a  shadow  rather 
than  a   body  ;  he   stood  wondering   and  motionless  ;  a   cold 


LIBUSSA. 


89 


shudder  crept  over  him ;  and  he  heard  a  sweet,  soft  voice 
address  to  him  these  words  :  "  Come  hither,  beloved 
stranger,  and  fear  not ;  I  am  no  phantasm,  no  deceitful 
shadow.  I  am  the  Elf  of  this  grove,  the  tenant  of  the  oak 
under  whose  leafy  boughs  thou  hast  often  rested.  I  rocked 
thee  in  sweet,  delighting  dreams,  and  prefigured  to  thee  thy 
adventures  ;  and  when  a  brood-mare  or  a  foal  had  chanced 
to  wander  from  the  herd,  I  told  thee  of  the  place  where 
thou  wouldst  find  it.  Repay  this  favor  by  a  service  which 
I  now  require  of  thee  ;  be  the  Protector  of  this  tree,  which 
has  so  often  screened  thee  from  the  shower  and  the  scorch- 
ing heat;  and  guard  the  murderous  axes  of  thy  brethren, 
which  lay  waste  the  forest,  that  they  harm  not  this  venera- 
ble trunk." 

The  young  warrior,  restored  to  self-possession  by  this  soft, 
still  voice,  made  answer :  "  Goddess  or  mortal,  whoever 
thou  mayest  be,  require  of  me  what  thou  pleasest.  If  I  can, 
I  will  perform  it.  But  I  am  a  man  of  no  account  among 
my  people,  the  servant  of  the  Duke  my  lord.  If  he  tell  me 
to-day  or  to-morrow,  Feed  here,  feed  there,  how  shall  I 
protect  thy  tree  in  this  distant  forest?  Yet  if  thou  com- 
mandest  me,  I  will  renounce  the  service  of  princes,  and 
dwell  under  the  shadow  of  thy  oak,  and  guard  it  while  I 
live." 

"  Do  so,"  said  the  Elf;  "  thou  shalt  not  repent  it." 
Hereupon  she  vanished  ;  and  there  was  a  rustling  in  the 
branches  above,  as  if  some  breath  of  an  evening  breeze  had 
been  entangled  in  them,  and  had  stirred  the  leaves.  Krokus, 
for  a  while,  stood  enraptured  at  the  heavenly  form  which 
had  appeared  to  him.  So  soft  a  female,  of  such  slender 
shape  and  royal  bearing,  he  had  never  seen  among  the 
short,  squat  damsels  of  his  own  Sclavonic  race.  At  last  he 
stretched  himself  upon  the  moss,  but  no  sleep  descended 
on  his  eyes ;  the  dawn  overtook  him  in  a  whirl  of  sweet 
8* 


90 


MUSAEUS. 


emotions,  which  were  as  strange  and  new  to  him  as  the 
first  beam  of  light  to  the  opened  eye  of  one  born  blind. 
With  the  earliest  morning  he  hastened  to  the  Court  of  the 
Duke,  required  his  discharge,  packed  up  his  war-accoutre- 
ments, and,  with  rapid  steps,  his  burden  on  his  shoulders, 
and  his  head  full  of  glowing  enthusiasm,  hied  him  back  to 
his  enchanted  forest-hermitage. 

Meanwhile,  in  his  absence,  a  craftsman  among  the  peo- 
ple, a  miller  by  trade,  had  selected  for  himself  the  round 
straight  trunk  of  the  oak  to  be  an  axle,  and  was  proceeding 
with  his  mill-men  to  fell  it.  The  affrighted  Elf  sobbed 
bitterly,  as  the  greedy  saw  began  with  iron  tooth  to  devour 
the  foundations  of  her  dwelling.  She  looked  wildly  round, 
from  the  highest  summit,  for  her  faithful  guardian,  but  her 
glance  could  find  him  nowhere  ;  and  the  gift  of  prophecy, 
peculiar  to  her  race,  was  in  the  present  case  so  ineffectual, 
that  she  could  as  little  read  the  fate  that  stood  before  her, 
as  the  sons  of  iEsculapius,  with  their  vaunted  prognosis,  can 
discover  ways  and  means  for  themselves  when  Death  is 
knocking  at  their  own  door. 

Krokus,  however,  was  approaching,  and  so  near  the  scene 
of  this  catastrophe,  that  the  screeching  of  the  busy  saw  did 
not  escape  his  ear..  Such  a  sound  in  the  forest  boded  no 
good  ;  he  quickened  his  steps,  and  beheld  before  his  eyes 
the  horror  of  the  devastation  that  was  visiting  the  tree, 
which  he  had  taken  under  his  protection.  Like  a  fury  he 
rushed  upon  the  wood-cutters,  with  pike  and  sword,  and 
scared  them  from  their  work  ;  for  they  concluded  he  must 
be  a  forest-demon,  and  fled  in  great  precipitation.  By  good 
fortune,  the  wound  of  the  tree  was  still  curable  ;  and  the 
scar  of  it  disappeared  in  a  few  summers. 

In  the  solemn  hour  of  evening,  when  the  stranger  had 
fixed  upon  the  spot  for  his  future  habitation ;  had  meted 
out  the  space   for  hedging  round    as    a    garden,    and  was 


LIBTJSSA.  91 

weighing  in  his  mind  the  whole  scheme  of  his  future  hermit- 
age ;  where,  in  retirement  from  the  society  of  men,  he 
purposed  to  pass  his  days  in  the  service  of  a  shadowy  com- 
panion, possessed  apparently  of  little  more  reality  than  a 
Saint  of  the  Calendar,  whom  a  pious  friar  chooses  for  his 
spiritual  paramour,  —  the  Elf  appeared  before  him  at  the 
brink  of  the  lake,  and  with  gentle  looks  thus  spoke  : 

u  Thanks  to  thee,  beloved  stranger,  that  thou  hast  turned 
away  the  wasteful  arms  of  thy  brethren  from  ruining  this 
tree,  with  which  my  life  is  united.  For  thou  shalt  know 
that  Mother  Nature,  who  has  granted  to  my  race  such 
varied  powers  and  influences,  has  combined  the  fortune  of 
our  life  with  the  growth  and  duration  of  the  oak.  By  us 
the  sovereign  of  the  forest  raises  his  venerable  head  above 
the  populace  of  other  trees  and  shrubs ;  we  further  the  cir- 
culation of  the  sap  through  his  trunk  and  boughs,  that  he 
may  gain  strength  to  battle  with  the  tempest,  and  for  long 
centuries  to  defy  destructive  Time.  On  the  other  hand,  our 
life  is  bound  to  his  ;  when  the  oak,  which  the  lot  of  Destiny 
has  appointed  for  the  partner  of  our  existence,  fades  by 
years,  we  fade  along  with  him  ;  and  when  he  dies,  we  die, 
and  sleep,  like  mortals,  as  it  were  a  sort  of  death-sleep,  till, 
by  the  everlasting  cycle  of  things,  Chance,  or  some  hidden 
provision  of  Nature,  again  weds  our  being  to  a  new  germ  ; 
which,  unfolded  by  our  enlivening  virtue,  after  the  lapse  of 
long  years,  springs  up  to  be  a  mighty  tree,  and  affords  us 
the  enjoyment  of  existence  anew.  From  this  thou  mayest 
perceive  what  a  service  thou  hast  done  me  by  thy  help,  and 
what  gratitude  I  owe  thee.  Ask  of  me  the  recompense  of 
thy  noble  deed  ;  disclose  to  me  the  wish  of  thy  heart,  and 
this  hour  it  shall  be  granted  thee." 

Krokus  continued  silent.  The  sight  of  the  enchanting 
Elf  had  made  more  impression  on  him  than  her  speech,  of 
which,   indeed,   he   understood  but  little.     She   noticed  his 


92  MUSAEUS. 

embarrassment ,  and,  to  extricate  him  from  it,  plucked  a 
withered  reed  from  the  margin  of  the  lake,  broke  it  into 
three  pieces,  and  said  :  "  Choose  one  of  these  three  stalks, 
or  take  one  without  a  choice.  In  the  first,  lie  Honor  and 
Renown  ;  in  the  second,  Riches  and  the  wise  enjoyment 
of  them  ;  in  the  third  is  happiness  in  Love  laid  up  for 
thee." 

The  young  man  cast  his  eyes  upon  the  ground,  and 
answered  :  "  Daughter  of  Heaven,  if  thou  wouldst  deign 
to  grant  the  desire  of  my  heart,  know  that  it  lies  not  in 
these  three  stalks  which  thou  offerest  me  ;  the  recompense 
I  aim  at  is  higher.  What  is  Honor  but  the  fuel  of  Pride  ? 
what  are  Riches  but  the  root  of  Avarice  ?  and  what  is  Love 
but  the  trap-door  of  Passion,  to  ensnare  the  noble  freedom 
of  the  heart  ?  Grant  me  my  wish,  to  rest  under  the  shadow 
of  thy  oak-tree  from  the  toils  of  warfare,  and  to  hear  from 
thy  sweet  mouth  the  lessons  of  wisdom,  that  I  may  under- 
stand by  them  the  secrets  of  the  future." 

"  Thy  request,"  replied  the  Elf,  "  is  great ;  but  thy  de- 
serving toward  me  is  not  less  so  ;  be  it  then  as  thou  hast 
asked.  Nor,  with  the  fruit,  shall  the  shell  be  wanting  to 
thee ;  for  the  wise  man  is  also  honored  ;  he  alone  is  rich, 
for  he  desires  nothing  more  than  he  needs ;  arid  he  tastes 
the  pure  nectar  of  Love  without  poisoning  it  by  polluted 
lips." 

So  saying,  she  again  presented  him  the  three  reed-stalks, 
and  vanished  from  his  sight. 

The  young  Eremite  prepared  his  bed  of  moss,  beneath 
the  oak,  exceedingly  content  with  the  reception  which  the 
Elf  had  given  him.  Sleep  came  upon  him  like  a  strong 
man  ;  gay  morning  dreams  danced  round  his  head,  and 
solaced  his  fancy  with  the  breath  of  happy  forebodings.  On 
awakening,  he  joyfully  began  his  day's  work  ;  ere  long  he 
had  built  himself  a  pleasant  hermit's-cottage  ;  had  dug  his 


LIBUSSA.  93 

garden,  and  planted  in  it  roses  and  lilies,  with  other  odorif- 
erous flowers  and  herbs ;  not  forgetting  pulse  and  cole,  and 
a  sufficiency  of  fruit-trees.  The  Elf  never  failed  to  visit 
him  at  twilight ;  she  rejoiced  in  the  prospering  of  his  la- 
bors ;  walked  with  him,  hand  in  hand,  by  the  sedgy  border 
of  the  lake  ;  and  the  wavering  reeds,  as  the  wind  passed 
through  them,  whispered  a  melodious  evening  salutation  to 
the  trustful  pair.  She  instructed  her  attentive  disciple  in  the 
secrets  of  Nature  ;  showed  him  the  origin  and  causes  of 
things  ;  taught  him  their  common  and  their  magic  proper- 
ties and  effects  ;  and  formed  the  rude  soldier  into  a  thinker 
and  philosopher. 

In  proportion  as  the  feelings  and  senses  of  the  young  man 
grew  refined  by  this  fair  spiritual  intercourse,  it  seemed  as 
if  the  tender  form  of  the  Elf  were  condensing,  and  acquir- 
ing more  consistency  ;  her  bosom  caught  warmth  and  life  ; 
her  brown  eyes  sparkled  with  the  fire  of  love;  and,  with  the 
shape,  she  appeared  to  have  adopted  the  feelings  of  a  young, 
blooming  maiden.  The  sentimental  hour  of  dusk,  which 
is  as  if  expressly  calculated  to  awaken  slumbering  feelings, 
had  its  usual  effect ;  and  after  a  few  moons  from  their  first 
acquaintance,  the  sighing  Krokus  found  himself  possessed  of 
the  happiness  in  Love,  which  the  Third  Reed-stalk  had  ap- 
pointed him  ;  and  did  not  repent  that  by  the  trap-door  of 
Passion  the  freedom  of  his  heart  had  been  ensnared. 
Though  the  marriage  of  the  tender  pair  took  place  without 
witnesses,  it  was  celebrated  with  as  much  enjoyment  as  the 
most  tumultuous  espousal  ;  nor  were  speaking  proofs  ot 
love's  recompense  long  wanting.  The  Elf  gave  her  hus- 
band three  daughters  at  a  birth  ;  and  the  father,  rejoicing  in 
the  bounty  of  his  better  half,  named,  at  the  first  embrace, 
the  eldest  infant,  Bela  ;  the  next  born,  Therba  ;  and  the 
youngest,  Libussa.  They  were  all  like  the  Genies  in  beau- 
ty of  form  ;  and  though  not  moulded  of  such  light  materials 


94 


MUSAEUS. 


as  the  mother,  their  corporeal  structure  was  finer  than  the 
dull  earthly  clay  of  the  father.  They  were  also  free  from 
all  the  infirmities  of  childhood  ;  their  swalhings  did  not 
gall  them  ;  they  teethed  without  epileptic  fits,  needed  no 
calomel  taken  inwardly,  got  no  rickets,  had  no  small-pox, 
and,  of  course,  no  scars,  no  scum-eyes,  or  puckered  faces; 
nor  did  they  require  any  leading-strings  ;  for,  after  the  first 
nine  days,  they  ran  like  little  partridges  ;  and  as  they  grew 
up,  they  manifested  all  the  talents  of  the  mother,  for  dis- 
covering hidden  things,  and  predicting  what  was  future. 

Krokus  himself,  by  the  aid  of  time,  grew  skilful  in  these 
mysteries  also.  When  the  wolf  had  scattered  the  flocks 
through  the  forest,  and  the  herdsmen  were  seeking  for  their 
sheep  and  horses;  when  the  woodman  missed  an  axe  or 
bill,  they  took  counsel  from  the  wise  Krokus,  who  showed 
them  where  to  find  what  they  had  lost.  When  a  wicked 
prowler  had  abstracted  aught  from  the  common  stock ;  had 
by  night  broken  into  the  pinfold,  or  the  dwelling  of  his 
neighbor,  and  robbed  or  slain  him,  and  none  could  guess 
the  malefactor,  the  wise  Krokus  was  consulted.  He  led  the 
people  to  a  green  ;  made  them  form  a  ring ;  then  stept  into 
the  midst  of  them,  set  the  fiuthful  sieve  a-running,  and  so 
failed  not  to  discover  the  misdoer.  By  such  acts  his  fame 
spread  over  all  the  country  of  Bohemia  ;  and  whoever  had 
a  weighty  care,  or  an  important  undertaking,  took  counsel 
from  the  wise  Krokus  about  its  issue,  The  lame  and  the  sick, 
too,  required  from  him  help  and  recovery  ;  even  the  unsound 
cattle  of  the  fold  were  driven  to  him  ;  and  his  gift  of  curing 
sick  kine  by  his  shadow  was  not  less  than  that  of  the  re- 
nowned St.  Martin  of  Schierbach.  By  these  means  the 
concourse  of  the  people  to  him  grew  more  frequent,  day  by 
day,  no  otherwise  than  if  the  Tripod  of  the  Delphic  Apollo 
had  been  transferred  to  the  Bohemian  forest ;  and  though 
Krokus    answered    all    inquiries,  and    cured    the    sick    and 


L1BUSSA.  95 

afflicted,  without  fee  or  reward,  yet  the  treasure  of  his 
secret  wisdom  paid  him  richly,  and  brought  him  in  abundant 
profit ;  the  people  crowded  to  him  with  gifts  and  presents, 
and  almost  oppressed  him  with  testimonies  of  their  good- 
will. It  was  he  that  first  disclosed  the  mystery  of  washing 
gold  from  the  sands  of  the  Elbe;  and  for  his  recompense 
he  had  a  tenth  of  all  the  produce.  By  these  means  his 
wealth  and  store  increased  ;  he  built  strong  holds  and  pal- 
aces ;  had  vast  herds  of  cattle  ;  possessed  fertile  pasturages, 
fields,  and  woods;  and  thus  found  himself  imperceptibly 
possessed  of  all  the  Riches  which  the  beneficently  forebod- 
ing Elf  had  inclosed  for  him  in  the  Second  Reed. 

One  fine  summer  evening,  when  Krokus  with  his  train 
was  returning  from  an  excursion,  having  by  special  request 
been  settling  the  disputed  marches  of  two  townships,  he 
perceived  his  spouse  on  the  margin  of  the  sedgy  lake,  where 
she  had  first  appeared  to  him.  She  waved  him  with  her 
hand  ;  so  he  dismissed  his  servants,  and  hastened  to  clasp 
her  in  his  arms.  She  received  him,  as  usual,  with  tender 
love  ;  but  her  heart  was  sad  and  oppressed ;  from  her  eyes 
trickled  down  ethereal  tears,  so  fine  and  fugitive,  that  as 
they  fell  they  were  greedily  inhaled  by  the  air,  and  not 
allowed  to  reach  the  ground.  Krokus  was  alarmed  at  this 
appearance  ;  he  had  never  seen  his  wife's  fair  eyes  other- 
wise than  cheerful,  and  sparkling  with  youthful  gayety. 
"  What  ails  thee,  beloved  of  my  heart  ?  "  said  he  ;  "  black 
forebodings  overcast  my  soul.  Speak,  say  what  mean  those 
tears  ?  " 

The  Elf  sobbed,  leaned  her  head  sorrowfully  on  his 
shoulder,  and  said :  "  Beloved  husband,  in  thy  absence  I 
have  looked  into  the  Book  of  Destiny;  a  doleful  chance 
overhangs  my  life-tree;  I  must  part  from  thee  forever. 
Follow  me  into  the  castle,  till  I  bless  my  children ;  for  from 
this  day  you  will  never  see  me  more." 


96  MUSAEUS. 

"Dearest  wife,"  said  Krokus,  "chase  away  these  mourn- 
ful thoughts.  What  misfortune  is  it  that  can  harm  thy 
tree  ?  Behold  its  sound  houghs,  how  they  stretch  forth 
loaded  with  fruit  and  leaves,  and  how  it  raises  its  top  to  the 
clouds.  While  this  arm  can  move,  it  shall  defend  thy  tree 
from  any  miscreant  that  presumes  to  wound  its  stem." 

"  Impotent  defence,"  replied  she,  "  which  a  mortal  arm 
can  yield  !  Ants  can  but  secure  themselves  from  ants,  flies 
from  flies,  and  the  worms  of  Earth  from  other  earthly 
worms.  But  what  can  the  mightiest  among  you  do  against 
the  workings  of  Nature,  or  the  unalterable  decisions  of 
Fate  ?  The  kings  of  the  Earth  can  heap  up  little  hillocks, 
which  they  name  fortresses  and  castles ;  but  the  weakest 
breath  of  air  defies  their  authority,  blows  where  it  lists,  and 
mocks  at  their  command.  This  oak-tree  thou  hast  guarded 
from  the  violence  of  men  ;  canst  thou  likewise  forbid  the 
tempest,  that  it  rise  not  to  disleaf  its  branches ;  or  if  a  hid- 
den worm  is  gnawing  in  its  marrow,  canst  thou  draw  it  out, 
and  tread  it  under  foot  ?  " 

Amid  such  conversation  they  arrived  at  the  Castle.  The 
slender  maidens,  as  they  were  wont  at  the  evening  visit  of 
their  mother,  came  bounding  forth  to  meet  them,  gave  ac- 
count of  their  day's  employments,  produced  their  needle- 
work, and  their  embroideries,  to  prove  their  diligence ;  but 
now  the  hour  of  household  happiness  was  joyless.  They 
soon  observed  that  the  traces  of  deep  suffering  were  im- 
printed on  the  countenance  of  their  father  ;  and  they  looked 
with  sympathizing  sorrow  at  their  mother's  tears,  without 
venturing  to  inquire  their  cause.  The  mother  gave  them 
many  wise  instructions  and  wholesome  admonitions  ;  but  her 
speech  was  like  the  singing  of  a  swan,  as  if  she  wished  to 
give  the  world  her  farewell.  She  lingered  with  her  hus- 
band, till  the  morning-star  went  up  in  the  sky;  then  she 
embraced  him  and  her  children  with  mournful  tenderness ; 


LIBUSSA.  97 

and  at  dawn  of  day  retired,  as  was  her  custom,  through  the 
secret  door,  to  her  oak-tree,  and  left  her  friends  to  their 
own  sad  forebodings. 

Nature  stood  in  listening  stillness  at  the  rising  sun ;  but 
heavy  black  clouds  soon  veiled  his  beaming  head.  The 
day  grew  sultry  and  oppressive ;  the  whole  atmosphere  was 
electric.  Distant  thunder  came  rolling  over  the  forest ;  and 
the  hundred-voiced  Echo  repeated,  in  the  winding  valleys, 
its  baleful  sound.  At  the  noontide,  a  forky  thunderbolt 
struck  quivering  down  upon  the  oak;  and  in  a  moment 
shivered,  with  resistless  force,  the  trunk  and  boughs,  and 
the  wreck  lay  scattered  far  around  it  in  the  forest.  When 
Father  Krokus  was  informed  of  this,  he  rent  his  garments, 
went  forth  with  his  daughters  to  deplore  the  life-tree  of  his 
spouse,  and  to  collect  the  fragments  of  it,  and  preserve  them 
as  invaluable  relics.  But  the  Elf  from  that  day  was  not 
seen  any  more. 

In  some  few  years,  the  tender  girls  had  waxed  in  stature  ; 
their  maiden  forms  blossomed  forth,  as  the  rose  pushing  up 
from  the  bud  ;  and  the  fame  of  their  beauty  spread  abroad 
over  all  the  land.  The  noblest  youths  of  the  people  crowd- 
ed round,  with  cases  to  submit  to  Father  Krokus  for  his 
counsel ;  but  at  bottom,  these  their  specious  pretexts  were 
directed  to  the  fair  maidens,  whom  they  wished  to  get  a 
glimpse  of;  as  is  the  mode  with  young  men,  who  delight 
to  have  some  business  with  the  master  of  the  household, 
when  his  daughters  are  beautiful.  The  three  sisters  lived 
in  great  simplicity  and  unity  together ;  as  yet  but  little 
conscious  of  their  talents.  The  gift  of  prophecy  had  been 
communicated  to  them  in  an  equal  degree  ;  and  all  their 
words  were  oracles,  although  they  knew  it  not.  Yet 
soon  their  vanity  awoke  at  the  voice  of  flattery  ;  word- 
catchers  eagerly  laid  hold  of  every  sound  proceeding  from 

tol.  i.  9 


98  MUSAEUS. 

their  lips ;  Celadons  noted  down  every  look,  spied  out 
the  faintest  smile,  explored  the  aspect  of  their  eyes,  and 
drew  from  it  more  or  less  favorable  prognostics,  conceiving 
that  their  own  destiny  was  to  be  read  by  means  of  it ;  and 
from  this  time  it  has  become  the  mode  with  lovers  to  de- 
duce from  the  horoscope  of  the  eyes  the  rising  or  declining 
of  their  star  in  courtship.  Scarcely  had  Vanity  obtained  a 
footing  in  the  virgin  heart,  till  Pride,  her  dear  confident, 
with  her  wicked  rabble  of  a  train,  Self-love,  Self-praise, 
Self-will,  Self-interest,  were  standing  at  the  door ;  and  all 
of  them  in  time  sneaked  in.  The  elder  sisters  struggled  to 
outdo  the  younger  in  their  arts  ;  and  envied  her  in  secret 
her  superiority  in  personal  attractions.  For  though  they  all 
were  very  beautiful,  the  youngest  was  the  most  so.  Fraii- 
lein  Bela  turned  her  chief  attention  to  the  science  of  plants  ; 
as  Fraiilein  Medea  did  in  earlier  times.  She  knew  their 
hidden  virtues,  could  extract  from  them  poisons  and  anti- 
dotes ;  and  farther,  understood  the  art  of  making  from  them 
sweet  or  nauseous  odors  for  the  unseen  Powers.  When  her 
censer  steamed,  she  allured  to  her  Spirits  out  of  the  im- 
measurable depth  of  aether,  from  beyond  the  Moon,  and 
they  became  her  subjects,  that  with  their  fine  organs  they 
might  be  allowed  to  snuff  these  delicious  vapors  ;  and  when 
she  scattered  villanous  perfumes  upon  the  coals,  she  could 
have  smoked  away  with  it  the  very  Zihim  and  the  Ohim 
from  the  Wilderness. 

Fraiilein  Therba  was  inventive  as  Circe  in  devising  magic 
formulas,  which  could  command  the  elements,  could  raise 
tempests  and  whirlwinds,  also  hail  and  thunder ;  could  shake 
the  bowels  of  the  Earth,  or  lift  itself  from  the  sockets  of  its 
axle.  She  employed  these  arts  to  terrify  the  people,  and  be 
feared  and  honored  by  them  as  a  goddess ;  and  she  could, 
in  fact,  arrange  the  weather  more  according  to  the  wish  and 


LIBUSSA. 


99 


taste  of  men  than  wise  old  Nature  does.  Two  brothers 
quarrelled  on  this  subject,  for  their  wishes  never  were  the 
same.  The  one  was  a  husbandman,  and  still  desired  rain 
for  the  growth  and  strengthening  of  his  crops.  The  other 
was  a  potter,  and  desired  constant  sunshine  to  dry  his  dishes, 
which  the  rain  destroyed.  And  as  Heaven  never  could  con- 
tent them  in  disposing  of  this  matter,  they  repaired  one  day 
with  rich  presents  to  the  Castle  of  the  wise  Krokus ;  and 
submitted  their  petitions  to  Therba.  The  daughter  of  the 
Elf  gave  a  smile  over  their  unquiet  grumbling  at  the  wise 
economy  of  Nature  ;  and  contented  the  demands  of  each ; 
she  made  rain  fall  on  the  seed-lands  of  the  cultivator  ;  and 
the  sun  shone  on  the  potter-field  close  by.  By  these  en- 
chantments both  the  sisters  gained  much  fame  and  riches, 
for  they  never  used  their  gifts  without  a  fee.  With  their 
treasures  they  built  castles  and  country-houses ;  laid  out 
royal  pleasure-gardens  ;  to  their  festivals  and  divertisements 
there  was  no  end.  The  gallants,  who  solicited  their  love, 
they  gulled  and  laughed  at. 

Fraiilein  Libussa  was  no  sharer  in  the  vain,  proud  dispo- 
sition of  her  sisters.  Though  she  had  the  same  capacities 
for  penetrating  the  secrets  of  Nature,  and  employing  its 
hidden  powers  in  her  service,  she  remained  contented  with 
the  gifts  she  had  derived  from  her  maternal  inheritance, 
without  attempting  to  increase  them,  or  turn  them  to  a  source 
of  gain.  Her  vanity  extended  not  beyond  the  conscious- 
ness that  she  was  beautiful ;  she  cared  not  for  riches ;  and 
neither  longed  to  be  feared  nor'to  be  honored  like  her  sisters. 
Whilst  these  were  gadding  up  and  down  among  their  coun- 
try-houses, hastening  from  one  tumultuous  pleasure  to  anoth- 
er, with  the  flower  of  the  Bohemian  chivalry  fettered  to 
their  chariot-wheels,  she  abode  in  her  father's  house,  con- 
ducting the  economy,  giving  counsel  to  those  who  begged  it, 
friendly  help  to  the  afflicted  and   oppressed  ;  and  all  from 


100  MUSAEUS. 

good-will,  without  remuneration.*  Her  temper  was  soft 
and  modest,  and  her  conduct  virtuous  and  discreet,  as  be- 
seems a  noble  virgin.  She  might  secretly  rejoice  in  the 
victories  which  her  beauty  gained  over  the  hearts  of  men, 
and  accept  the  sighing  and  cooing  of  her  languishing  ador- 
ers as  a  just  tribute  to  her  charms  ;  but  none  dared  speak 
a  word  of  love  to  her,  or  venture  on  aspiring  to  her  heart. 
Yet  Amor,  the  roguish  urchin,  takes  a  pleasure  in  exerting 
his  privileges  on  the  coy  ;  and  often  hurls  his  burning  torch 
upon  the  lowly  straw-roof,  when  he  means  to  set  on  fire  a 
lofty  palace. 

Far  in  the  bosom  of  the  forest  lived  an  ancient  Knight, 
who  had  come  into  the  land  with  the  host  of  Czech.  In  this 
seclusion  he  had  fixed  his  settlement ;  reduced  the  desert 
under  cultivation,  and  formed  for  himself  a  small  estate, 
where  he  thought  to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  peace, 
and  live  upon  the  produce  of  his  husbandry.  A  strong- 
handed  neighbor  took  forcible  possession  of  the  land,  and 
expelled  the  owner,  whom  a  hospitable  peasant  sheltered  in 
his  dwelling.  The  distressed  old  Knight  had  a  son,  who 
now  formed  the  sole  consolation  and  support  of  his  age ;  a 

*  Nulla  Cro.cco  virilis  sexus  proles  fuit,  sed  moriturus  tres  a  morte 
sua  Jilias  superstites  reliquit,  omnes  ut  ipse  eratfatidicas,  vel  magas 
potius,  qualis  Medea  et  Circe  fuerant.  Nam  Bela,  natu  jiliarum 
maxima,  herbis  incantandis  Medeam  imitabatur ;  Tctcha  (Therba), 
natu  minor,  carminibus  magicis  Circem  reddcbat.  Ad  utramque 
frequens  multitudinis  concur sus ;  dum  alii  amores  sibi  conciliare, 
alii  cum  bond,  valetudine  in  gratiam  redire,  alii  res  amissas  recupe- 
rare  cupiunt.  Ilia  arcem  Belinam,  hac  altera  arcem  Thetin  ex 
mercenarid  pecunid,  nihil  enim  gratuito  faciebant,  adificandam 
curavit.  Liberalior  in  hac  re  Lybussa  natu  minima  apparuit, 
ut  qua  a  nemine  quidquam  extorquebat,  et  potius  fata  publica  omni- 
bus, quam  privata  singulis,  praicinebat :  qud  liberalitate,  et  quia  non 
gratuitd  solum  sed  etiam  minus  fallace  pradictione  ulebatur,  asse- 
cuta  est  ut  in  locum patris  Crocci  subrogaretur.  —  Dubravius. 


LIBUSSA.  101 

bold,  active  youth,  but  possessed  of  nothing  save  a  hunting- 
spear  and  a  practised  arm,  for  the  sustenance  of  his  gray- 
haired  father.  The  injustice  of  their  neighbor  stimulated 
him  to  revenge,  and  he  had  been  prepared  for  resisting 
force  by  force  ;  but  the  command  of  the  anxious  father, 
unwilling  to  expose  his  son  to  danger,  had  disarmed  him. 
Yet  ere  long  he  resumed  his  former  purpose.  Then  the 
father  called  him  to  his  presence,  and  said  : 

"  Pass  over,  my  son,  to  the  wise  Krokus,  or  to  the  cun- 
ning virgins  his  daughters,  and  ask  counsel  whether  the  gods 
approve  thy  undertaking,  and  will  grant  it  a  prosperous 
issue.  If  so,  gird  on  thy  sword,  and  take  the  spear  in  thy 
hand,  and  go  forth  to  fight  for  thy  inheritance.  If  not,  stay 
here  till  thou  hast  closed  my  eyes  and  laid  me  in  the  earth ; 
then  do  what  shall  seem  good  to  thee." 

The  youth  set  forth,  and  first  reached  Bela's  palace,  a 
building  like  a  temple  for  the  habitation  of  a  goddess.  He 
knocked  at  the  door,  and  desired  to  be  admitted  ;  but  the 
porter,  observing  that  he  came  empty-handed,  dismissed  him 
as  a  beggar,  and  shut  the  door  in  his  face.  He  went  forward 
in  sadness,  and  reached  the  house  of  sister  Therba,  where 
he  knocked  and  requested  an  audience.  The  porter  looked 
upon  him  through  his  window,  and  said  :  "  If  thou  bringest 
gold  in  thy  bag,  which  thou  canst  weigh  out  to  my  mistress, 
she  will  teach  thee  one  of  her  good  saws  to  read  thy  for- 
tune withal.  If  not,  then  go  and  gather  of  it  in  the  sands 
of  the  Elbe  as  many  grains  as  the  tree  hath  leaves,  the 
sheaf  ears,  and  the  bird  feathers,  then  will  I  open  thee  this 
gate."  The  mocked  young  man  glided  off  entirely  deject- 
ed ;  and  the  more  so,  as  he  learned  that  Seer  Krokus  was 
in  Poland,  arbitrating  the  disputes  of  some  contending 
Grandees.  He  anticipated  from  the  third  sister  no  more 
flattering  reception  ;  and  as  he  descried  her  father's  castle 
from  a  hill  in  the  distance,  he  could  not  venture  to  approach 
9* 


102 


MUSAEUS. 


it,  but  hid  himself  in  a  thicket  to  pursue  his  bitter  thoughts. 
Ere  long  he  was  roused   by  an  approaching  noise  ;  he  lis- 
tened, and  heard  a  sound   of  horses'   hoofs.     A  flying  roe 
dashed  through   the   bushes,  followed   by  a  lovely  huntress 
and  her  maids  on  stately  steeds.     She  hurled  a  javelin  from 
her  hand  ;  it  flew  whizzing  through   the  air,  but  did   not  hit 
the  game.     Instantly  the   watchful  young  man  seized  his 
bow,  and  launched  from   the   twanging  cord  a  bolt,  which 
smote  the  deer  through  the  heart,  and  stretched  it  lifeless  on 
the   spot.     The   lady  in  astonishment  at  this  phenomenon 
looked  round  to  find  her  unknown  hunting  partner ;  and  the 
archer,  on  observing  this,  stept  forward  from  his  bush,  and 
bent  himself  humbly  before   her  to   the   ground.     Fraulein 
Libussa  thought  she  had  never  seen  a  finer  man.     At  the 
first  glance,  his  figure  made  so  deep  an  impression  on   her, 
that  she  could  not  but  award  him  that   involuntary  feeling  of 
good-will,  which  a  beautiful  appearance  claims  as  its  prerog- 
ative.    "  Tell  me,  fair  stranger,"  said  she  to  him,  "  who  art 
thou,  and  what  chance  is  it  that  leads  thee  to  these  groves  ?  " 
The  youth  guessed  rightly  that  his  lucky  star  had  brought 
him  what  he  was  in  search  of;  he   disclosed  his  case  to  her 
in  modest  words  ;  not  hiding  how  disgracefully  her  sisters 
had  dismissed  him,  or  how  the  treatment   had   afflicted  him. 
She  cheered  his  heart  with  friendly  words.     "  Follow  me  to 
my  abode,"  said  she;  "I  will  consult  the  Book  of  Fate  for 
thee,  and  answer  thy  demand  to-morrow  by  the  rising  of  the 
sun." 

The  young  man  did  as  he  was  ordered.  No  churlish 
porter  here  barred  for  him  the  entrance  of  the  palace ;  the 
fair  lady  exercised  the  rights  of  hospitality  with  generous 
attention.  He  was  charmed  by  this  benignant  reception,  but 
still  more  by  the  beauty  of  his  gentle  hostess.  Her  enchant- 
ing figure  hovered  all  night  before  his  eyes  ;  he  carefully 
defended  himself  from  sleep,  that  he  might  not  for  a  mo- 


LIBUSSA.  103 

ment  lose  from  his  thoughts  the  delightful  events  of  the  day. 
Fraulein  Libussa,  on  the  contrary,  enjoyed  soft  slumber ; 
for  seclusion  from  the  influences  of  the  external  senses, 
which  disturb  the  finer  presentiments  of  the  future,  is  an 
indispensable  condition  for  the  gift  of  prophecy.  The  glow- 
ing fancy  of  the  maiden  blended  the  form  of  this  young 
stranger  with  all  the  dreaming  images  which  hovered 
through  her  mind  that  night.  She  found  him  where  she  had 
not  looked  for  him,  in  connexion  with  affairs  in  which  she 
could  not  understand  how  this  unknown  youth  had  come  to 
be  involved. 

On  her  early  awakening,  at  the  hour  when  the  fair  proph- 
etess was  wont  to  separate  and  interpret  the  visions  of  the 
night,  she  felt  inclined  to  cast  away  these  phantasms  from 
her  mind,  as  errors  which  had  sprung  from  a  disturbance  in 
the  operation  of  her  prophetic  faculty,  and  were  entitled  to 
no  heed  from  her.  Yet  a  dim  feeling  signified  that  this  cre- 
ation of  her  fancy  was  not  idle  dreaming  ;  but  had  a  sig- 
nificant allusion  to  certain  events  which  the  future  would 
unravel ;  and  that  last  night  this  presaging  Fantasy  had  spied 
out  the  decrees  of  Fate,  and  blabbed  them  to  her,  more 
successfully  than  ever.  By  help  of  it,  she  found  that  her 
guest  was  inflamed  with  warm  love  to  her  ;  and  with  equal 
honesty  her  heart  confessed  the  same  thing  in  regard  to  him. 
But  she  instantly  impressed  the  seal  of  silence  on  the  news ; 
as  the  modest  youth  had,  on  his  side,  set  a  guard  upon  his 
lips  and  his  eyes,  that  he  might  not  expose  himself  to  a  con- 
temptuous refusal  ;  for  the  chasm,  whichj  Fortune  had  inter- 
posed between  him  and  the  daughter  of  the  wise  Krokus, 
seemed  impassable. 

Although  the  fair  Libussa  well  knew  what  she  had  to  say 
in  answer  to  the  young  man's  question,  yet  it  went  against 
her  heart  to  let  him  go  from  her  so  soon.  At  sunrise  she 
called  him  to  her  in  her  garden,  and   said,  "  The  curtain  of 


104  MUSAEUS. 

darkness  yet  hangs  before  my  eyes ;  abide  with  me  till  sun- 
set ;  "  and  at  night  she  said,  "  Stay  till  sunrise  ;  "  and 
next  morning,  "  Wait  another  day  ;  "  and  the  third  day, 
"  Have  patience  till  tomorrow."  On  the  fourth  day  she  at 
last  dismissed  him  ;  finding  no  more  pretexts  for  detaining 
him  with  safety  to  her  secret.  At  parting,  she  gave  him  his 
response  in  friendly  words  :  "  The  gods  will  not  that  thou 
shouldst  contend  with  a  man  of  violence  in  the  land ;  to 
bear  and  suffer  is  the  lot  of  the  weaker.  Return  to  thy 
father ;  be  the  comfort  of  his  old  age  ;  and  support  him 
by  the  labor  of  thy  diligent  hand.  Take  two  white  Steers 
as  a  present  from  my  herd  ;  and  this  Staff  to  drive  them  ; 
and  when  it  blossoms  and  bears  fruit,  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
will  descend  on  thee." 

The  young  man  felt  himself  unworthy  of  the  gentle  vir- 
gin's gift ;  and  blushed  that  he  should  receive  it  and  make 
no  return.  With  ineloquent  lips,  but  with  looks  so  much 
the  more  eloquent,  he  took  mournful  leave  of  her ;  and  at 
the  gate  below  found  two  white  Steers  awaiting  him,  as  sleek 
and  glittering  as  of  old  the  godlike  Bull,  on  whose  smooth 
back  the  virgin  Europa  swam  across  the  blue  sea-waves. 
Joyfully  he  loosed  them  from  the  post,  and  drove  them  softly 
on  before  him.  The  distance  home  seemed  but  a  few  ells, 
so  much  was  his  spirit  busied  with  the  fair  Libussa ;  and 
he  vowed,  that,  as  he  never  could  obtain  her  love,  he  would 
love  no  other  all  his  days.  The  old  Knight  rejoiced  in  the 
return  of  his  son  ;  and  still  more  in  learning  that  the  oracle 
of  the  fair  heiress  agreed  so  completely  with  his  own  wishes. 
As  husbandry  had  been  appointed  by  the  gods  for  the  young 
man's  trade,  he  lingered  not  in  harnessing  his  white  Steers, 
and  yoking  them  to  the  plough.  The  first  trial  prospered  to 
his  wish  ;  the  bullocks  had  such  strength  and  alacrity  that 
they  turned  over  in  a  single  day  more  land  than  twelve  yoke 
of  oxen  commonly  can   master  ;  for  they  were   fiery  and 


LIBUSSA.  105 

impetuous,  as  the  Bull  is  painted  in  the  Almanac,  where 
he  rushes  from  the  clouds  in  the  Sign  of  April ;  not  slug- 
gish and  heavy  like  the  Ox,  who  plods  on  with  his  holy  con- 
sorts, in  our  Gospel-Book,  phlegmatically,  as  a  Dutch  skip- 
per in  a  calm. 

Duke  Czech,  who  had  led  the  first  colony  of  his  people 
into  Bohemia,  was  now  long  ago  committed  to  his  final  rest, 
yet  his  descendants  had  not  been  promoted  to  succeed  him 
in  his  princely  dignity.  The  Magnates  had,  in  truth,  at  his 
decease,  assembled  for  a  new  election  ;  but  their  wild,  stormy 
tempers  would  admit  of  no  reasonable  resolution.  Self- 
interest  and  self-sufficiency  transformed  the  first  Bohemian 
Convention  of  Estates  into  a  Polish  Diet ;  as  too  many  hands 
laid  hold  of  the  princely  mantle,  they  tore  it  in  pieces,  and 
no  one  of  them  obtained  it.  The  government  had  dwin- 
dled to  a  sort  of  Anarchy  ;  every  one  did  what  was  right 
in  his  own  eyes  ;  the  strong  oppressed  the  weak,  the  rich 
the  poor,  the  great  the  little.  There  was  now  no  public 
security  in  the  land  ;  yet  the  frank  spirits  of  the  time 
thought  their  new  republic  very  well  arranged.  "  All  is  in 
order,"  said  they  ;  "  everything  goes  on  its  way  with  us  as 
well  as  elsewhere ;  the  wolf  eats  the  lamb,  the  kite  the  dove, 
the  fox  the  cock."  This  artless  constitution  could  not  last ; 
when  the  first  debauch  of  fancied  freedom  had  gone  off, 
and  the  people  were  again  grown  sober,  reason  asserted  its 
rights  ;  the  patriots,  the  honest  citizens,  whoever  in  the 
nation  loved  his  country,  joined  together  to  destroy  the  idol 
Hydra,  and  unite  the  people  once  more  under  a  single  head. 
"  Let  us  choose  a  Prince,"  said  they,  "  lo  rule  over  us,  after 
the  manner  of  our  fathers,  to  tame  the  froward,  and  exer- 
cise right  and  justice  in  the  midst  of  us.  Not  the  strongest, 
the  boldest,  or  the  richest ;  the  wisest  be  our  Duke  !  "  The 
people,  wearied  out  with  the  oppressions  of  their  petty  ty- 
rants,   had   on   this   occasion   but   one   voice,   and   loudly 


106  MUSAEUS. 

applauded  the  proposal.  A  meeting  of*  Estates  was  con- 
voked ;  and  the  choice  unanimously  fell  upon  the  wise 
Krokus.  An  embassy  of  honor  was  appointed,  inviting  him 
to  take  possession  of  the  princely  dignity.  Though  he  had 
never  longed  for  lofty  titles,  he  hesitated  not  about  comply- 
ing with  the  people's  wish.  Invested  with  the  purple,  he 
proceeded,  with  great  pomp,  to  Vizegrad,  the  residence  of 
the  Dukes ;  where  the  people  met  him  with  triumphant 
shouting,  and  did  reverence  to  him  as  their  Regent.  Where- 
by he  perceived  that  now  the  Third  Reed-stalk  of  the 
bountiful  Elf  was  likewise  sending  forth  its  gift  upon 
him. 

His  love  of  justice,  and  his  wise  legislation,  soon  spread 
his  fame  over  all  the  surrounding  countries.  The  Sarmatic 
Princes,  incessantly  at  feud  with  one  another,  brought  their 
contention  from  afar  before  his  judgment-seat.  He  weigh- 
ed it  with  the  undeceitful  weights  of  natural  Justice,  in  the 
scales  of  Law  ;  and  when  he  opened  his  mouth,  it  was  as 
if  the  venerable  Solon,  or  the  wise  Solomon  from  between 
the  Twelve  Lions  of  his  throne,  had  been  pronouncing  sen- 
tence. Some  seditious  instigators  having  leagued  against 
the  peace  of  their  country,  and  kindled  war  among  the 
Poles,  he  advanced  at  the  head  of  his  army  into  Poland ;  put 
an  end  to  the  civil  strife  ;  and  a  large  portion  of  the  people, 
grateful  for  the  peace  which  he  had  given  them,  chose  him 
for  their  Duke  also.  He  there  built  the  city  Cracow,  which 
is  called  by  his  name,  and  has  the  privilege  of  crowning  the 
Polish  Kings,  even  to  the  present  time.  Krokus  ruled  with 
great  glory  to  the  end  of  his  days.  Observing  that  he  was 
now  near  their  limit,  and  must  soon  set  out,  he  caused  a 
coffin  to  be  made  from  the  fragments  of  the  oak  which  his 
spouse  the  Elf  had  inhabited  ;  and  then  departed  in  peace, 
bevvept  by  the  Princesses  his  three  daughters,  who  deposited 
the  Ducal  remains  in  the  coffin,  and  consigned  him  to  the 


LIBUSSA.  107 

Earth  as  he  had  commanded  ;  and  the   whole  land  mourned 
for  him. 

When  the  obsequies  were  finished,  the  Estates  assembled 
to  deliberate  who  should  now  possess  the  vacant  throne. 
The  people  were  unanimous  for  one  of  Krokus's  daughters  ; 
but  which  of  the  three  they  had  not  yet  determined.  Fraii- 
lein  Bela  had,  on  the  whole,  the  fewest  adherents  ;  for  her 
heart  was  not  good  ;  and  her  magic-lantern  was  too  fre- 
quently employed  in  doing  sheer  mischief.  But  she  had 
raised  such  a  terror  of  herself  among  the  people,  that  no 
one  liked  to  take  exception  at  her,  lest  he  might  draw  down 
her  vengeance  on  him.  When  the  vote  was  called,  there- 
fore, the  electors  all  continued  dumb  ;  there  was  no  voice 
for  her,  but  also  none  against  her.  At  sunset  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  people  separated,  adjourning  their  election  to 
another  day.  Then  Fraulein  Therba  was  proposed ;  but 
confidence  in  her  incantations  had  made  Fraulein  Therba's 
head  giddy  ;  she  was  proud  and  overbearing ;  required  to 
be  honored  as  a  goddess  ;  and  if  incense  did  not  always 
smoke  for  her,  she  grew  peevish,  cross,  capricious  ;  dis- 
playing all  the  properties  by  which  the  fair  sex,  when  they 
please,  can  cease  to  be  fair.  She  was  less  feared  than  her 
elder  sister,  but  not  on  that  account  more  loved.  For  these 
reasons,  the  election-field  continued  silent  as  a  lykewake  ; 
and  the  vote  was  never  called  for.  On  the  third  day,  came 
Libussa's  turn.  No  sooner  was  this  name  pronounced, 
than  a  confidential  hum  was  heard  throughout  the  electing 
circle;  the  solemn  visages  unwrinkled,. and  brightened  up, 
and  each  of  the  Electors  had  some  good  to  whisper  of  the 
Fraulein  to  his  neighbor.  One  praised  her  virtue,  another 
praised  her  modesty,  a  third  her  prudence,  a  fourth  her 
infallibility  in  prophecy,  a  fifth  her  disinterestedness  in 
giving  counsel,  a  tenth  her  chastity,  other  ninety  her 
beauty,  and  the   last  her  gifts  as  a  housewife.      When  a 


108  MUSAEUS. 

lover  draws  out  such  a  catalogue  of  the  perfections  of  his 
mistress,  it  remains  still  doubtful  whether  she  is  really  the 
possessor  of  a  single  one  among  them ;  but  the  public  sel- 
dom errs  on  the  favorable  side,  however  often  on  the  other, 
in  the  judgments  it  pronounces  on  good  fame.  With  so 
many  universally  acknowledged  praiseworthy  qualities,  Fraii- 
lein  Libussa  was  undoubtedly  the  favored  candidate,  at  least 
in  petto,  of  the  sage  Electors ;  but  the  preference  of  the 
younger  sister  to  the  elder  has  so  frequently,  in  the  affair 
of  marriage,  as  experience  testifies,  destroyed  the  peace  of 
the  house,  that  reasonable  fear  might  be  entertained  lest 
in  affairs  of  still  greater  moment  it  might  disturb  the  peace 
of  the  country.  This  consideration  put  the  sapient  guar- 
dians of  the  people  into  such  embarrassment,  that  they  could 
come  to  no  conclusion  whatever.  There  was  wanting  a 
speaker,  to  hang  the  clock-weight  of  his  eloquence  upon  the 
wheel  of  the  Electors1  favorable  will,  before  the  business 
could  get  into  motion,  and  the  good  disposition  of  their 
minds  become  active  and  efficient ;  and  this  speaker  now 
appeared,  as  if  appointed  for  the  business. 

Wladomir,  one  of  the  Bohemian  Magnates,  the  highest 
after  the  Duke,  had  long  sighed  for  the  enchanting  Libussa, 
and  wooed  her  during  Father  Krokus's  lifetime.  The  youth 
being  one  of  his  most  faithful  vassals,  and  beloved  by  him  as 
a  son,  the  worthy  Krokus  could  have  wished  well  that  love 
would  unite  this  pair;  but  the  coyness  of  the  maiden  was 
insuperable,  and  he  would  in  nowise  force  her  inclination. 
Prince  Wladomir,  however,  would  not  be  deterred  by  these 
doubtful  aspects  ;  but  still  hoped,  by  fidelity  and  constancy, 
to  tire  out  the  hard  heart  of  the  Fraiilein,  and  by  his  ten- 
der attentions  make  it  soft  and  pliant.  He  continued  in  the 
Duke's  retinue  to  the  end,  without  appearing  by  this  means 
to  have  advanced  a  hair's-breadth  towards  the  goal  of  his 
desires.     But  now,  he  thought,  an  opportunity  was  offered 


LIBUSSA.  109 

him  for  opening  her  closed  heart  by  a  meritorious  deed,  and 
earning  from  her  noble-minded  gratitude  what  lov.e  did  not 
seem  inclined  to  grant  him  voluntarily.  He  determined  on 
braving  the  hatred  and  vengeance  of  the  two  dreaded  sisters, 
and  raising  his  beloved  to  her  paternal  throne.  Observing 
the  indecision  of  the  wavering  assembly,  he  addressed  them, 
and  said  : 

"  If  ye  will  hear  me,  ye  courageous  Knights  and  Nobles 
from  among  the  people,  I  will  lay  before  you  a  similitude, 
by  which  you  shall  perceive  how  this  coming  choice  may 
be  accomplished,  to  the  weal  and  profit  of  the  land." 

Silence  being  ordered,  he  proceeded  thus  : 

"  The  Bees  had  lost  their  Queen,  and  the  whole  hive  sat 
sad  and  moping  ;  they  flew  seldom  and  sluggishly  out,  had 
small  heart  or  activity  in  honey-making,  and  their  trade  and 
sustenance  fell  into  decay.  Therefore  they  resolved  upon 
a  new  sovereign,  to  rule  over  their  community,  that  disci- 
pline and  order  might  not  be  lost  from  among  them.  Then 
came  the  Wasp  flying  towards  them,  and  said  :  '  Choose  me 
for  your  Queen,  I  am  mighty  and  terrible  ;  the  strong  horse 
is  afraid  of  my  sting  ;  with  it  I  can  even  defy  the  lion,  your 
hereditary  foe,  and  prick  him  in  the  snout  when  he  ap- 
proaches your  store.  I  will  watch  you  and  defend  you.' 
This  speech  was  pleasant  to  the  Bees  ;  but  after  deeply  con- 
sidering it,  the  wisest  among  them  answered  :  '  Thou  art 
stout  and  dreadful,  but  even  the  sting  which  is  to  guard  us 
we  fear  ;  thou  canst  not  be  our  Queen. ,  Then  the  Humble- 
bee  came  buzzing  towards  them,  and  said  :  '  Choose  me  for 
your  Queen  !  hear  ye  not  that  the  sounding  of  my  wings 
announces  loftiness  and  dignity  ?  Nor  is  a  sting  wanting 
to  me,  wherewith  to  protect  you.'  The  Bees  answered  : 
4  We  are  a  peaceable  and  quiet  people  ;  the  proud  sounding 
of  thy  wings  would  annoy  us,  and  disturb  the  continuance 
of  our  diligence;  thou   canst  not  be   our  Queen.'     Then  the 

VOL.   I.  10 


110 


MUSAEUS. 


Royal-bee  requested  audience :  '  Though  I  am  larger  and 
stronger  than  you,'  said  she,  '  my  strength  cannot  hurt  or 
damage  you  ;  for,  lo  !  the  dangerous  sting  is  altogether 
wanting.  I  am  soft  of  temper,  a  friend  of  order  and  thrift, 
can  guide  your  honey-making,  and  further  your  labor.' — 
1  Then,'  said  the  Bees,  '  thou  art  worthy  to  rule  over  us  ; 
we  obey  thee  ;  be  our  Queen.'" 

Wladomir  was  silent.  The  whole  assembly  guessed  the 
meaning  of  his  speech,  and  the  minds  of  all  were  in  a  favor- 
able tone  for  Fraulein  Libussa.  But  at  the  moment  when 
the  vote  was  to  be  put,  a  croaking  raven  flew  over  their 
heads  ;  this  evil  omen  interrupted  all  deliberations,  and  the 
meeting  was  adjourned  till  the  morrow.  It  was  Fraulein 
Bela  who  had  sent  this  bird  of  black  augury  to  stop  their 
operations,  for  she  well  knew  how  the  minds  of  the  Electors 
were  inclining;  and  Prince  Wladomir  had  raised  her  bitter- 
est spleen  against  him.  She  held  a  secret  consultation  with 
her  sister  Therba  ;  when  it  was  determined  to  take  ven- 
geance on  their  common  slanderer,  and  to  dispatch  a  heavy 
Incubus  to  suffocate  the  soul  from  his  body.  The  stout 
Knight,  dreaming  nothing  of  this  danger,  went,  as  he  was 
wont,  to  wait  upon  his  mistress,  and  was  favored  by  her 
with  the  first  friendly  look;  from  which  he  failed  not  to 
presage  for  himself  a  heaven  of  delight;  and  if  anything 
could  still  have  increased  his  rapture,  it  must  have  been  the 
gift  of  a  rose,  which  was  blooming  on  the  Fraiilein's  breast, 
and  which  she  reached  him,  with  an  injunction  to  let  it 
wither  on  his  heart.  He  interpreted  these  words  quite 
otherwise  than  they  were  meant ;  for  of  all  the  sciences, 
there  is  none  so  deceitful  as  the  science  of  expounding  in 
matters  of  love  ;  here  errors,  as  it  were,  have  their  home. 
The  enamored  Knight  was  anxious  to  preserve  his  rose  as 
long  as  possible  in  freshness  and  bloom  ;  he  put  it  in  a 
flower-pot  among  water,  and  fell  asleep  with  the  most  flat- 
tering hopes, 


LIBUSSA. 


Ill 


At  gloomy  midnight,  the  destroying  angel  sent  by  Fraii- 
lein  Bela  glided  towards  him  ;  with  panting  breath  blew  off 
the  bolts  and  locks  of  his  apartment ;  lighted  like  a  moun- 
tain of  lead  upon  the  slumbering  Knight,  and  so  squeezed 
him  together,  that  he  felt  on  awakening  as  if  a  millstone 
had  been  hung  about  his  neck.  In  this  agonizing  suffoca- 
tion, thinking  that  the  last  moment  of  his  life  was  at  hand, 
he  happily  remembered  the  rose,  which  was  standing  by  his 
bed  in  a  flower-pot,  and  pressed  it  to  his  breast,  saying  : 
"  Wither  with  me,  fair  rose,  and  "die  on  my  chilled  bosom, 
as  a  proof  that  my  last  thought  was  directed  to  thy  gentle 
mistress."  In  an  instant  all  was  light  about  his  heart ;  the 
heavy  Incubus  could  not  withstand  the  magic  force  of  the 
flower  ;  his  crushing  weight  would  not  now  have  balanced  a 
feather;  his  antipathy  to  the  perfume  soon  scared  him  from 
the  chamber;  and  the  narcotic  virtue  of  this  rose-odor  again 
lulled  the  Knight  into  refreshing  sleep.  He  rose  with  the 
sun,  next  morning,  fresh  and  alert,  and  rode  to  the  field,  to 
see  what  impression  his  similitude  had  made  on  the  Elec- 
tors, and  to  watch  what  course  the  business  was  about  to 
take;  determined  at  all  hazards,  should  a  contrary  wind 
spring  up,  and  threaten  with  shipwreck  the  vessel  of  his 
hopes,  to  lay  his  hand  upon  the  rudder,  and  steer  it  into 
port. 

For  the  present  this  was  not  required.  The  electing 
Senate  had  considered  Wladomir's  parable,  and  so  sedulous- 
ly ruminated  and  digested  it  over  night,  that  it  had  passed 
into  their  hearts  and  spirits.  A  stout  Knight,  who  espied 
this  favorable  crisis,  and  who  sympathized  in  the  concerns 
of  his  heart  with  the  enamored  Wladomir,  was  endeavoring 
to  snatch  away,  or  at  least  to  share  with  him,  the  honor  of 
exalting  Fraiilein  Libussa  to  the  throne.  He  stept  forth, 
and  drew  his  sword,  and  with  a  loud  voice  proclaimed  Li- 
bussa Duchess  of  Bohemia,  calling  upon   all  who  thought 


112 


MUSAEUS. 


as  he  did,  to  draw  their  swords  and  justify  the  choice.  In 
a  moment  hundreds  of  swords  were  gleaming  through  the 
field  ;  a  loud  huzza  announced  the  new  Regent,  and  on 
all  sides  arose  the  joyful  shout :  "Libussa  be  our  Duchess  !  " 
A  commission  was  appointed,  with  Wladomir  arid  the  stout 
sword-drawer  at  its  head,  to  acquaint  the  Fraulein  with 
her  exaltation  to  the  princely  rank.  With  that  modest 
blush  which  gives  the  highest  grace  to  female  charms, 
she  accepted  the  sovereignty  over  the  people  ;  and  the 
magic  of  her  enrapturing  look  made  all  hearts  subject  to 
her.  The  nation  celebrated  the  event  with  vast  rejoicings  ; 
and  although  her  two  sisters  envied  her,  and  employed  their 
secret  arts  to  obtain  revenge  on  her  and  their  country  for 
the  slight  which  had  been  put  upon  them  ;  and  endeavored 
by  the  leaven  of  criticism,  by  censuring  all  the  measures 
and  transactions  of  their  sister,  to  produce  a  hurtful  fer- 
mentation in  the  state,  yet  Libussa  was  enabled  wisely  to 
encounter  this  unsisterly  procedure,  and  to  ruin  all  the 
hostile  projects,  magical  or  otherwise,  of  these  ungentle 
persons ;  till  at  last,  weary  of  assailing  her  in  vain,  they 
ceased  to  employ  their  ineffectual  arts  against  her. 

The  sighing  Wladomir  awaited,  in  the  meantime,  with 
wistful  longing,  the  unfolding  of  his  fate.  More  than  once 
he  had  tried  to  read  the  final  issue  of  it  in  the  fair  eyes 
of  his  Princess;  but  Libussa  had  enjoined  them  strict  silence 
respecting  the  feelings  of  her  heart ;  and  for  a  lover,  without 
prior  treaty  with  the  eyes  and  their  significant  glances,  to 
demand  an  oral  explanation,  is  at  all  times  an  unhappy  un- 
dertaking. The  only  favorable  sign,  which  still  sustained 
his  hopes,  was  the  unfaded  rose  ;  for  after  a  year  had  passed 
away,  it  still  bloomed  as  fresh  as  on  the  night  when  he 
received  it  from  her  fair  hand.  A  flower  from  a  lady's 
hand,  a  nosegay,  a  ribbon,  or  a  lock  of  hair,  is  certainly 
in  all  cases  better  than  an  empty  nut ;    yet  all   these   pretty 


LIBUSSA. 


113 


things  are  but  ambiguous  pledges  of  love,  if  they  have  not 
borrowed  meaning  from  some  more  trust-worthy  revelation. 
Wladomir  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  play  in  silence  the  part 
of  a  sighing  shepherd,  and  to  watch  what  Time  and  Chance 
might  in  the  long  run  do  to  help  him.  The  unquiet  Mizisla 
pursued  his  courtship  with  far  more  vivacity  ;  he  pressed 
forward  on  every  occasion  where  he  could  obtain  her  no- 
tice. At  the  coronation,  he  had  been  the  first  that  took 
the  oath  of  feally  to  the  Princess ;  he  followed  her  insep- 
arably, as  the  Moon  does  the  Earth,  to  express  by  unbidden 
offices  of  zeal  his  devotion  to  her  person  ;  and  on  public 
solemnities  and  processions,  he  flourished  his  sword  before 
her,  to  keep  its  good  services  in  her  remembrance. 

Yet  Libussa  seemed,  like  other  people  in  the   world,  to 
have  very  speedily  forgotten  the   promoters  of  her  fortune  ; 
for   when   an   obelisk  is  once   standing   perpendicular,  one 
heeds  not  the  levers  and   implements  which  raised  it ;  so  at 
least   the   claimants  of  her  heart  explained  the  Fraulein's 
coldness.      Meanwhile  both  of  them   were  wrong   in   their 
opinion  ;  the  Fraiilein   was  neither  insensible  nor  ungrate- 
ful ;   but  her  heart  was  no  longer  a  free  piece  of  property, 
which   she   could    give   or   sell   according   to   her  pleasure. 
The  decree  of  Love  had  already  passed  in  favor  of  the  trim 
Forester  with  the  sure  cross-bow.  The  first  impression,  which 
the   sight  of  him   had   made   upon   her  heart,   was  still   so 
strong,  that  no  second  could  efface  it.     In  a  period  of  three 
years,   the    colors   of  imagination,   in   which   that   Divinity 
had   painted  the  image  of  the  graceful  youth,  had  no  whit 
abated   in   their    brightness ;    and   love   therefore   continued 
altogether  unimpaired.     For  the   passion  of  the  fair  sex  is 
of  this  nature,  that,  if  it  can  endure  three  moons,  it  will  then 
last  three  times  three  years,  or  longer  if  required.     In  proof 
of  this,  see  the   instances  occurring  daily  before  our  eyes. 
When  the  heroes  of  Germany  sailed  over  distant  seas,  to 
10* 


114  MUSAEUS. 

fightout  the  quarrel  of  a  self-willed  daughter  of  Britain  with 
her  mother-land,  they  tore  themselves  from  the  arms  of 
their  dames  with  mutual  oaths  of  truth  and  constancy  ;  yet 
before  the  last  Buoy  of  the  Weser  had  got  astern  of  them, 
the  heroic  navigators  were  for  most  part  forgotten  of  their 
Chloes.  The  fickle  among  these  maidens,  out'  of  grief  to 
find  their  hearts  unoccupied,  hastily  supplied  the  vacuum 
by  the  surrogate  of  new  intrigues  ;  but  the  faithful  and  true, 
who  had  constancy  enough  to  stand  the  Weser-proof,  and 
had  still  refrained  from  infidelity  when  the  conquerors  of 
their  hearts  had  got  beyond  the  Black  Buoy,  these,  it  is 
said,  preserved  their  vow  unbroken  till  the  return  of  the 
heroic  host  into  their  German  native  country  ;  and  are  still 
expecting  from  the  hand  of  Love  the  recompense  of  their 
unwearied  perseverance. 

It  is  therefore  less  surprising  that  the  fair  Libussa,  under 
these  circumstances,  could  withstand  the  courting  of  the 
brilliant  chivalry  who  struggled  for  her  love,  than  that 
Penelope  of  Ithaca  could  let  a  whole  cohort  of  wooers  sigh 
for  her  in  vain,  when  her  heart  had  nothing  in  reserve  but 
the  gray-headed  Ulysses.  Rank  and  birth,  however,  had 
established  such  a  difference  in  the  situations  of  the  Fraiilein 
and  of  her  beloved  youth,  that  any  closer  union  than  Pla- 
tonic love,  a  shadowy  business,  which  can  neither  warm  nor 
nourish,  was  not  readily  to  be  expected.  Though,  in  those 
distant  times,  the  pairing  of  the  sexes  was  as  little  estimated 
by  parchments  and  genealogical  trees,  as  the  chaffers  were 
arranged  by  their  antennas  and  shell-wings,  or  the  flowers 
by  their  pistils,  stamina,  calix,  and  honey  produce  ;  it  was 
understood  that  with  the  lofty  elm  the  precious  vine  should 
mate  itself,  and  not  the  rough  tangleweed  which  creeps 
along  the  hedges.  A  mis-assortment  of  marriage,  from  a 
difference  of  rank  an  inch  in  breadth,  excited,  it  is  true,  less 
uproar   than  in  these   our  classic   times ;  yet  a  difference  of 


LIBUSSA.  115 

an  ell  in  breadth,  especially  when  rivals  occupied  the  in- 
terstice, and  made  the  distance  of  the  two  extremities  more 
visible,  was  even  then  a  thing  which  men  could  notice.  All 
this,  and  much  more,  did  the  Fraiilein  accurately  ponder 
in  her  prudent  heart ;  therefore  she  granted  Passion,  the 
treacherous  babbler,  no  audience,  loudly  as  it  spoke  in 
favor  of  the  youth  whom  Love  had  honored.  Like  a  chaste 
vestal,  she  made  an  irrevocable  vow  to  persist  through  life 
in  her  virgin  closeness  of  heart ;  and  to  answer  no  inquiry 
of  a  wooer,  either  with  her  eyes,  or  her  gestures,  or  her 
lips  ;  yet  reserving  to  herself,  as  a  just  indemnification,  the 
right  of  platonizing  to  any  length  she  liked.  This  nunlike 
system  suited  the  aspirants'  way  of  thought  so  ill,  that  they 
could  not  in  the  least  comprehend  the  killing  coldness  of 
their  mistress  ;  Jealousy,  the  confident  of  Love,  whispered 
torturing  suspicion  in  their  ears;  each  thought  the  other 
was  the  happy  rival,  and  their  penetration  spied  about 
unweariedly  to  make  discoveries,  which  both  of  them  re- 
coiled from.  Yet  Fraiilein  Libussa  weighed  out  her  scanty 
graces  to  the  two  valiant  Ritters  with  such  prudence  and 
acuteness,  on  so  fair  a  balance,  that  the  scale  of  neither 
rose  above  the  other. 

Weary  of  this  fruitless  waiting,  both  of  them  retired  from 
the  Court  of  their  Princess,  and  settled,  with  secret  discon- 
tent, upon  the  afTeofFments  which  Duke  Krokus  had  con- 
ferred on  them.  They  brought  so  much  ill-humor  home 
with  them,  that  Wladomir  was  an  oppression  to  all  his 
vassals  and  his  neighbors  ;  and  Ritter  Mizisla,  on  the  other 
hand,  became  a  hunter,  followed  deer  and  foxes  over  the 
seed-fields  and  fences  of  his  subjects,  and  often  with  his 
train,  to  catch  one  hare,  would  ride  ten  acres  of  corn  to 
nothing.  In  consequence,  arose  much  sobbing  and  bewail- 
ing in  the  land,  yet  no  righteous  judge  stepped  forth  to  stay 
the  mischief;  for  who  would  willingly  give  judgment  against 


116 


MUSAEUS. 


the  stronger  ?  And  so  the  sufferings  of*  the  people  never 
reached  the  throne  of  the  Duchess.  By  the  virtue  of  her 
second-sight,  however,  no  injustice  done  within  the  wide 
limits  of  her  sway  could  escape  her  observation  ;  and  the 
disposition  of  her  mind  being  soft,  like  the  sweet  features  of 
her  face,  she  sorrowed  inwardly  at  the  misdeeds  of  her 
vassals,  and  the  violence  of  the  powerful.  She  took  counsel 
with  herself  how  the  evil  might  be  remedied,  and  her  wis- 
dom suggested  an  imitation  of  the  gods,  who,  in  their  ju- 
dicial procedure,  do  not  fall  upon  the  criminal  and  cut  him 
off  as  it  were  with  the  red  hand  ;  though  vengeance,  follow- 
ing with  slow  steps,  sooner  or  later  overtakes  him.  The 
young  Princess  appointed  a  general  Convention  of  her 
Chivalry  and  States,  and  made  proclamation,  that  whoever 
had  a  grievance  or  a  wrong  to  be  righted  should  come  for- 
ward free  and  fearless,  under  her  safe-conduct.  Thereupon, 
from  every  end  and  corner  of  her  dominions,  the  maltreated 
and  oppressed  crowded  towards  her  ;  the  wranglers  also, 
and  litigious  persons,  and  whoever  had  a  legal  cause  against 
his  neighbor.  Libussa  sat  upon  her  throne,  like  the  goddess 
Themis,  and  passed  sentence,  without  respect  of  persons, 
with  unerring  judgment  ;  for  the  labyrinthic  mazes  of  chi- 
cane could  not  lead  her  astray,  as  they  do  the  thick  heads 
of  city  magistrates;  and  all  men  were  astonished  at  the 
wisdom  with  which  she  unravelled  the  perplexed  hanks  of 
processes  for  meum  and  tuum,  and  at  her  unwearied  pa- 
tience in  picking  out  the  threads  of  justice,  never  once 
catching  a  false  end,  but  passing  them  from  side  to  side  of 
their  embroilments,  and  winding  them  off  to  the  uttermost 
thrum. 

When  the  tumult  of  the  parties  at  her  bar  had  by  degrees 
diminished,  and  the  sittings  were  about  to  be  concluded,  on 
the  last  clay  of  these  assizes  audience  was  demanded  by  a 
free  neighbor  of  the  potent  Wladomir,  and  by  deputies  from 


LIBUSSA.  117 

the  subjects  of  the  hunter  Mizisla.  They  were  admitted, 
and  the  Freeholder  first  addressing  her  began  :  "  An  indus- 
trious planter,"  said  he,  "  fenced  in  a  little  circuit,  on  the 
bank  of  a  broad  river,  whose  waters  glided  down  with  soft 
rushing  through  the  green  valley  ;  for  he  thought,  The  fair 
stream  will  be  a  guard  to  me  on  this  side,  that  no  hungry 
wild  beast  eat  my  crops,  and  it  will  moisten  the  roots  of  my 
fruit-trees,  that  they  flourish  speedily  and  bring  me  fruit. 
But  when  the  earnings  of  his  toil  were  about  to  ripen,  the 
deceitful  stream  grew  troubled  ;  its  still  waters  began  to 
swell  and  roar,  it  overflowed  its  banks,  and  carried  one  piece 
after  another  of  the  fruitful  soil  along  with  it ;  and  dug 
itself  a  bed  through  the  middle  of  the  cultivated  land  ;  to 
the  sorrow  of  the  poor  planter,  who  had  to  give  up  his  little 
property  to  the  malicious  wasting  of  his  strong  neighbor, 
the  raging  of  whose  waves  he  himself  escaped  with  difficul- 
ty. Puissant  daughter  of  the  wise  Krokus,  the  poor  planter 
entreats  of  thee  to  command  the  haughty  river  no  longer  to 
roll  its  proud  billows  over  the  field  of  the  toilsome  husband- 
man, or  wash  away  the  fruit  of  his  weary  arms,  his  hope  of 
glad  harvest;  but  to  flow  peacefully  along  within  the  limits 
of  its  own  channel." 

During  this  speech,  the  cheerful  brow  of  the  fair  Libussa 
became  overclouded  ;  manly  rigor  gleamed  from  her  eyes, 
and  all  around  was  ear  to  catch  her  sentence,  which  ran 
thus  :  "  Thy  cause  is  plain  and  straight ;  no  force  shall  dis- 
turb thy  rightful  privileges.  A  dike,  which  it  shall  not  over- 
pass, shall  set  bounds  to  the  tumultuous  river;  and  from  its 
fishes  thou  shalt  be  repaid  sevenfold  the  plunder  of  its 
wasteful  billows.'1  Then  she  beckoned  to  the  eldest  of  the 
Deputies,  and  he  bowed  his  face  to  the  earth,  and  said  : 
"  Wise  daughter  of  the  far-famed  Krokus,  whose  is  the 
grain  upon  the  field,  the  sower's,  who  has  hidden  the  seed- 
corn  in  the  ground  that  it  spring  up  and   bear  fruit ;  or  the 


118  MUSAEUS. 

tempest's,  which  breaks  it  and  scatters  it  away  ?  "  She 
answered:  "The  sower's."  —  "Then  command  the  tem- 
pest,"" said  the  spokesman,  "  that  it  choose  not  our  corn- 
fields for  the  scene  of  its  caprices,  to  uproot  our  crops,  and 
shake  the  fruit  from  our  trees."  —  "  So  be  it,"  said  the  Duch- 
ess ;  "  I  will  tame  the  tempest,  and  banish  it  from  your 
fields  ;  it  shall  battle  with  the  clouds,  and  disperse  them, 
where  they  are  rising  from  the  south,  and  threatening  the 
land  with  hail  and  heavy  weather." 

Prince  Wladomir,  and  Ritter  Mizisla,  were  both  assessors 
in  the  general  tribunal.  On  hearing  the  complaint,  and  the 
rigorous  sentence  passed  regarding  it,  they  waxed  pale,  and 
looked  down  upon  the  ground  with  suppressed  indignation  ; 
not  daring  to  discover  how  sharply  it  stung  them  to  be  con- 
demned by  a  decree  from  female  lips.  For  although,  out 
of  tenderness  to  their  honor,  the  complainants  had  modestly 
overhung  the  charge  with  an  allegorical  veil,  which  the 
righteous  sentence  of  the  fair  President  had  also  prudently 
respected,  yet  the  texture  of  this  covering  was  so  fine  and 
transparent,  that  whoever  had  an  eye  might  see  what  stood 
behind  it.  But  as  they  dared  not  venture  to  appeal  from 
the  judgment-seat  of  the  Princess  to  the  people,  since  the 
sentence  passed  upon  them  had  excited  universal  joy,  they 
submitted  to  it,  though  with  great  reluctance.  Wladomir 
indemnified  his  freeholding  neighbor  sevenfold  for  the  mis- 
chief done  him;  and  Nimrod  Mizisla  engaged,  on  the  honor 
of  a  knight,  no  more  to  select  the  corn-fields  of  his  sub- 
jects as  a  chase  for  hare-catching.  Libussa,  at  the  same 
time,  pointed  out  to  them  a  more  respectable  employment, 
for  occupying  their  activity,  and  restoring  to  their  fame, 
which  now,  like  a  cracked  pot  when  struck,  emitted  nothing 
but  discords,  the  sound  ring  of  knightly  virtues.  She  placed 
them  at  the  head  of  an  army,  which  she  was  despatching 
to  encounter  Zornebock,'the  Prince  of  the  Sorbi,  a  giant, 


LIBUSSA.  119 

and  a  powerful  magician  withal,  who  was  then  meditating 
war  against  Bohemia.  This  commission  she  accompanied 
with  the  penance,  that  they  were  not  to  appear  again  at 
Court,  till  the  one  could  offer  her  the  plume,  the  other  the 
golden  spurs,  of  the  monster,  as  tokens  of  their  victory. 

The  unfading  rose,  during  this  campaign,  displayed  its 
magic  virtues  once  more.  By  means  of  it,  Prince  Wlad- 
omir  was  as  invulnerable  to  mortal  weapons,  as  Achilles  the 
Hero  ;  and  as  nimble,  quick,  and  dexterous,  as  Achilles  the 
Light-of-foot.  The  armies  met  upon  the  southern  bound- 
aries of  the  Kingdom,  and  joined  in  fierce  battle.  The 
Bohemian  heroes  flew  through  the  squadrons,  like  storm  and 
whirlwind  ;  and  cut  down  the  thick  spear-crop,  as  the  scythe 
of  the  mower  cuts  a  field  of  hay.  Zornebock  fell  beneath 
the  strong  dints  of  their  falchions  ;  they  returned  in  triumph 
with  the  stipulated  spoils  to  Vizegrad  ;  and  the  spots  and 
blemishes,  which  had  soiled  their  knightly  virtue,  were  now 
washed  clean  away  in  the  blood  of  their  enemies.  Libussa 
bestowed  on  them  every  mark  of  princely  honor,  dismissed 
them  to  their  homes  when  the  army  was  discharged  ;  and 
gave  them,  as  a  new  token  of  her  favor,  a  purple-red  apple 
from  her  pleasure-garden,  for  a  memorial  of  her  by  the 
road,  enjoining  them  to  part  the  same  peacefully  between 
them,  without  cutting  it  in  two.  They  then  went  their  way  ; 
put  the  apple  on  a  shield,  and  had  it  borne  before  them  as  a 
public  spectacle,  while  they  consulted  together  how  the  part- 
ing of  it  might  be  prudently  effected,  according  to  the  mean- 
ing of  its  gentle  giver. 

While  the  point  where  their  roads  divided  lay  before  them 
at  a  distance,  they  proceeded  with  their  partition  treaty  in 
the  most  accommodating  mood  ;  but  at  last  it  became  neces- 
sary to  determine  which  of  the  two  should  have  the  apple 
in  his  keeping,  for  both  had  equal  shares  in  it,  and  only  one 
could  get  it,  though  each  promised  to  himself  great  wonders 


120  MUSAEUS. 

from  the  gift,  and  was  eager  to  obtain  possession  of  it. 
They  split  in  their  opinions  on  this  matter  ;  and  things  went 
so  far,  that  it  appeared  as  if  the  sword  must  decide  to 
whom  this  indivisible  apple  had  been  allotted  by  the  fortune  of 
arms.  But  a  shepherd  driving  his  flock  overtook  them  as 
they  stood  debating ;  him  they  selected  (apparently  in  im- 
itation of  the  Three  Goddesses,  who  also  applied  to  a 
shepherd  to  decide  their  famous  apple-quarrel),  and  made 
arbiter  of  their  dispute,  and  laid  the  business  in  detail  before 
him.  The  shepherd  thought  a  little,  then  said:  "In  the 
gift  of  this  apple  lies  a  deep-hidden  meaning ;  but  who  can 
bring  it  out,  save  the  sage  Virgin  who  hid  it  there  ?  For 
myself,  I  conceive  the  apple  is  a  treacherous  fruit,  that  has 
grown  upon  the  Tree  of  Discord,  and  its  purple  skin  may 
prefigure  bloody  feud  between  your  worshipful  knightships  ; 
that  each  is  to  cut  off  the  other,  and  neither  of  you  get  en- 
joyment of  the  gift.  For,  tell  me,  how  is  it  possible  to  part 
an  apple,  without  cutting  it  in  twain  ?  "  The  Knights  took 
the  shepherd's  speech  to  heart,  and  thought  there  was  a  deal 
of  truth  in  it.  "  Thou  hast  judged  rightly,"  said  they. 
"  Has  not  this  base  apple  already  kindled  anger  and  conten- 
tion between  us  ?  Were  we  not  standing  harnessed  to  fight, 
for  the  deceitful  gift  of  this  proud  Princess  ?  Did  she  not 
put  us  at  the  head  of  her  army,  with  intention  to  destroy 
us  ?  And  having  failed  in  this,  she  now  arms  our  hands 
with  the  weapons  of  discord  against  each  other!  We  re- 
nounce her  crafty  present ;  neither  of  us  will  have  the 
apple.  Be  it  thine,  as  the  reward  of  thy  righteous  sentence  ; 
to  the  judge  belongs  the  fruit  of  the  process,  and  to  the 
parties  the  rind." 

The  Knights  then  went  their  several  ways,  while  the 
herdsman  consumed  the  objectum  litis  with  all  the  com- 
posure and  conveniency  common  among  judges.  The  am- 
biguous present  of  the  Duchess  cut   them  to  the  heart ;  and 


LIBUSSA.  121 

as  they  found,  on  returning  home,  that  they  could  no  longer 
treat  their  subjects  and  vassals  in  the  former  arbitrary  fash- 
ion, but  were  forced  to  obey  the  laws  which  FraiileinLibussa 
had  promulgated  for  the  general  security  among  her  people, 
their  ill  humor  grew  more  deep  and  rancorous.  They 
entered  into  a  league  offensive  and  defensive  with  each 
other  ;  made  a  party  for  themselves  in  the  country  ;  and 
many  mutinous  wrongheads  joined  them,  and  were  sent 
abroad  in  packs  to  decry  and  calumniate  the  government  of 
women.  "  Shame  !  Shame  !  "  cried  they,  "  that  we  must 
obey  a  woman,  who  gathers  our  victorious  laurels  to  deco- 
rate a  distaff  with  them  !  The  Man  should  be  master  of 
the  house,  and  not  the  Wife ;  this  is  his  special  right,  and 
so  it  is  established  everywhere,  among  all  people.  What  is 
an  army  without  a  Duke  to  go  before  his  warriors,  but  a 
helpless  trunk  without  a  head?  Let  us  appoint  a  Prince, 
who  may  be  ruler  over  us,  and  whom  we  may  obey." 

These  seditious  speeches  were  no  secret  to  the  watchful 
Princess  ;  nor  was  she  ignorant  what  wind  blew  them  thith- 
er, or  what  its  sounding  boded.  Therefore  she  convened  a 
deputation  of  the  States ;  entered  their  assembly  with  the 
stateliness  of  an  earthly  goddess,  and  the  words  of  her 
mouth  dropped  like  honey  from  her  virgin  lips.  "  A  rumor 
flies  about  the  land,"  said  she,  "  that  you  desire  a  Duke  to 
go  before  you  to  battle,  and  that  you  reckon  it  inglorious  to 
obey  me  any  longer.  Yet,  in  a  free  and  unconstrained 
election,  you  yourselves  did  not  choose  a  man  from  among 
you  ;  but  called  one  of  the  daughters  of  the  people,  and 
clothed  her  with  the  purple,  to  rule  over  you  according  to 
the  laws  and  customs  of  the  land.  Whoso  can  accuse  me 
of  error  in  conducting  the  government,  let  him  step  forward 
openly  and  freely,  and  bear  witness  against  me.  But  if  I, 
after  the  manner  of  my  father  Krokus,  have  done  prudently 
and   justly    in    the    midst   of   you,  making  crooked   things 

VOL.  I.  11 


122  MUSAEUS. 

straight,  and  rough  places  plain  ;  if  I  have  secured  your 
harvests  from  the  spoiler,  guarded  the  fruit-tree,  and  snatch- 
ed the  flock  from  the  claws  of  the  wolf;  if  I  have  bowed 
the  stiff  neck  of  the  violent,  assisted  the  down-pressed,  and 
given  the  weak  a  staff  to  rest  on  ;  then  will  it  beseem  you 
to  live  according  to  your  convenant,  and  be  true,  gentle, 
and  helpful  to  me,  as  in  doing  fealty  to  me  you  engaged. 
If  you  reckon  it  inglorious  to  obey  a  woman,  you  should 
have  thought  of  this  before  appointing  me  to  be  your  Prin- 
cess ;  if  there  is  disgrace  here,  it  is  you  alone  who  ought  to 
bear  it.  But  your  procedure  shows  you  not  to  understand 
your  own  advantage  ;  for  woman's  hand  is  soft  and  tender, 
accustomed  only  to  waft  cool  air  with  the  fan  ;  and  sinewy 
and  rude  is  the  arm  of  man,  heavy  and  oppressive  when  it 
grasps  the  supreme  control.  And  know  ye  not  that  where  a 
woman  governs,  the  rule  is  in  the  power  of  men  ?  For  she 
gives  heed  to  wise  counsellors,  and  these  gather  round  her. 
But  where  the  distaff  excludes  from  the  throne,  there  is  the 
government  of  females  ;  for  the  women,  that  please  the 
king's  eyes,  have  his  heart  in  their  hand.  Therefore,  con- 
sider well  of  your  attempt,  lest  ye  repent  your  fickleness 
too  late." 

The  fair  speaker  ceased  ;  and  a  deep,  reverent  silence 
reigned  throughout  the  hall  of  meeting  ;  none  presumed  to 
utter  a  word  against  her.  Yet  Prince  Wladomir  and  his 
allies  desisted  not  from  their  intention,  but  whispered  in 
each  other's  ear :  "  The  sly  Doe  is  loath  to  quit  the  fat  pas- 
tures ;  but  the  hunter's  horn  shall  sound  yet  louder,  and 
scare  her  forth."  *  Next  day  they  prompted  the  knights 
to  call  loudly  on  the   Princess  to  choose  a  husband  within 

*  Invita  de  Icetioribus  pascuis,  autor  seditionis  inquit,  bucula  ista 
dec  edit ;  sed  jam  vi  inde  deturbanda  est,  si  sud  sponte  loco  suo  conce- 
dere  viro  alicui  principi  noluerit.  — Dubravius. 


LIBUSSA. 


123 


three  days,  and  by  the  choice  of  her  heart  to  give  the  peo- 
ple a  Prince,  who  might  divide  with  her  the  cares  of  gov- 
ernment. At  this  unexpected  requisition,  coming  as  it 
seemed  from  the  voice  of  the  nation,  a  virgin  blush  over- 
spread the  cheeks  of  the  lovely  Princess ;  her  clear  eye 
discerned  all  the  sunken  cliffs,  which  threatened  her  with 
peril.  For  even  if,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  great 
world,  she  should  determine  upon  subjecting  her  inclination 
to  her  state-policy,  she  could  only  give  her  hand  to  one 
suitor,  and  she  saw  well  that  all  the  remaining  candidates 
would  take  it  as  a  slight,  and  begin  to  meditate  revenge. 
Besides,  the  private  vow  of  her  heart  was  inviolable  and 
sacred  in  her  eyes.  Therefore  she  endeavored  prudently  to 
turn  aside  this  importunate  demand  of  the  States  ;  and  again 
attempted  to  persuade  them  altogether  to  renounce  their 
schemes  of  innovation.  "  The  Eagle  being  dead,"  said  she, 
"the  birds  chose  the  Ring-dove  for  their  queen,  and  all  of 
them  obeyed  her  soft  cooing  call.  But  light  and  airy,  as  is 
the  nature  of  birds,  they  soon  altered  their  determination, 
and  repented  them  that  they  had  made  it.  The  proud  Pea- 
cock thought  that  it  beseemed  him  better  to  be  ruler ;  the 
keen  Falcon,  accustomed  to  make  the  smaller  birds  his  prey, 
reckoned  it  disgraceful  to  obey  the  peaceful  Dove  ;  they 
formed  a  party,  and  appointed  the  weak-eyed  Owl  to  be  the 
spokesman  of  their  combination,  and  propose  a  new  election 
of  a  sovereign.  The  sluggish  Bustard,  the  heavy-bodied 
Heath-cock,  the  lazy  Stork,  the  small-brained  Heron,  and 
all  the  larger  birds  chuckled,  flapped,  and  croaked  applause 
to  him  ;  and  the  host  of  little  birds  twittered,  in  their  sim- 
plicity, and  chirped  out  of  bush  and  grove  to  the  same  tune. 
Then  arose  the  warlike  Kite,  and  soared  boldly  up  into  the 
air,  and  the  birds  cried  out :  l  What  a  majestic  flight!  The 
brave,  strong  Kite  shall  be  our  King  !  '  Scarcely  had  the 
plundering   bird   taken  possession   of  the  throne,  when  he 


124  MUSAEUS. 

manifested  his  activity  and  courage  on  his  winged  subjects, 
in  deeds  of  tyranny  and  caprice  ;  he  plucked  the  feathers 
from  the  larger  fowls,  and  eat  the  little  songsters." 

Significant  as  this  oration  was,  it  made  but  a  small  im- 
pression on  the  minds  of  the  people,  hungering  and  thirsting 
after  change  ;  and  they  abode  by  their  determination,  that, 
within  three  days,  Fraiilein  Libussa  should  select  herself 
a  husband.  At  this,  Prince  Wladomir  rejoiced  in  heart ; 
for  now,  he  thought,  he  should  secure  the  fair  prey  for 
which  he  had  so  long  been  watching  in  vain.  Love  and 
ambition  inflamed  his  wishes,  and  put  eloquence  into 
his  mouth,  which  had  hitherto  confined  itself  to  secret 
sighing.  He  came  to  Court,  and  required  audience  of  the 
Duchess. 

"  Gracious  ruler  of  thy  people  and  my  heart,"  thus  he 
addressed  her,  "  from  thee  no  secret  is  hidden  ;  thou  know- 
est  the  flames  which  burn  in  this  bosom,  holy  and  pure  as 
on  the  altar  of  the  gods,  and  thou  knowest  also  what  fire  has 
kindled  them.  It  is  now  appointed,  that,  at  the  behest  of  thy 
people,  thou  give  the  land  a  Prince.  Wilt  thou  disdain  a 
heart  which  lives  and  beats  for  thee  ?  To  be  worthy  of  thy 
love,  I  risked  my  life  to  put  thee  on  the  throne  of  thy  father. 
Grant  me  the  merit  of  retaining  thee  upon  it  by  the  bond  of 
tender  affection  ;  let  us  divide  the  possession  of  thy  throne 
and  thy  heart ;  the  first  be  thine,  the  second  be  mine,  and 
my  happiness  will  be  exalted  beyond  the  lot  of  mor- 
tals." 

Fraiilein  Libussa  wore  a  most  maidenlike  appearance 
during  this  oration,  and  covered  her  face  with  her  veil,  to 
hide  the  soft  blush  which  deepened  the  color  of  her 
cheeks.  On  its  conclusion,  she  made  a  sign  with  her  hand, 
not  opening  her  lips,  for  the  Prince  to  step  aside  ;  as  if  she 
would  consider  what  she  should  resolve  upon,  in  answer  to 
his  suit, 


LIBUSSA. 


125 


Immediately  the  brisk  Knight  Mizisla  announced  himself, 
and  desired  to  be  admitted. 

"  Loveliest  of  the  daughters  of  princes,"  said  he,  as  he 
entered  the  audience-chamber,  "  the  fair  Ring-dove,  queen 
of  the  air,  must  no  longer,  as  thou  well  knowest,  coo  in  soli- 
tude, but  take  to  herself  a  mate.  The  proud  Peacock,  it  is 
talked,  holds  up  his  glittering  plumage  in  her  eyes,  and 
thinks  to  blind  her  by  the  splendor  of  his  feathers  ;  but  she 
is  prudent  and  modest,  and  will  not  unite  herself  with  the 
haughty  Peacock.  The  keen  Falcon,  once  a  plundering 
bird,  has  now  changed  his  nature  ;  is  gentle  and  honest,  and 
without  deceit  ;  for  he  loves  the  fair  Dove,  and  would  fain 
that  she  mated  with  him.  That  his  bill  is  hooked  and  his 
talons  sharp  must  not  mislead  thee  ;  he  needs  them  to  pro- 
tect the  fair  Dove  his  darling,  that  no  bird  hurt  her,  or 
disturb  the  habitation  of  her  rule ;  for  he  is  true  and 
kindly  to  her,  and  first  swore  fealty  on  the  day  when  she 
was  crowned.  Now  tell  me,  wise  Princess,  if  the  soft  Dove 
will  grant  to  her  trusty  Falcon  the  love  which  he  longs 
for  ?  " 

Fraulein  Libussa  did  as  she  had  done  before;  beckoned 
to  the  Knight  to  step  aside ;  and,  after  waiting  for  a  space, 
she  called  the  two  rivals  into  her  presence,  and  spoke 
thus : 

"  I  owe  you  great  thanks,  noble  Knights,  for  your  help 
in  obtaining  me  the  princely  crown  of  Bohemia,  which  my 
father  Krokus  honorably  wore.  The  zeal,  of  which  you 
remind  me,  had  not  faded  from  my  remembrance ;  nor  is  it 
hid  from  my  knowledge,  that  you  virtuously  love  me,  for 
your  looks  and  gestures  have  long  been  the  interpreters  of 
your  feelings.  That  I  shut  up  my  heart  against  you,  and 
did  not  answer  love  with  love,  regard  not  as  insensibility  ;  it 
was  not  meant  for  slight  or  scorn,  but  for  harmoniously  de- 
termining a  choice  which  was  doubtful.  I  weighed  your  mer* 
11* 


126  MUSAEUS. 

its,  and  the  tongue  of  the  trying  balance  bent  to  neither 
side.  Therefore  I  resolved  on  leaving  the  decision  of  your 
fate  to  yourselves ;  and  offered  you  the  possession  of  my 
heart,  under  the  figure  of  an  enigmatic  apple  ;  that  it  might 
be  seen  to  which  of  you  the  greater  measure  of  judgment 
and  wisdom  had  been  given,  in  appropriating  to  himself  this 
gift,  which  could  not  be  divided.  Now  tell  me  without 
delay,  in  whose  hands  is  the  apple  ?  Whichever  of  you 
has  won  it  from  the  other,  let  him  from  this  hour  receive 
my  throne  and  my  heart  as  the  prize  of  his  skill." 

The  two  rivals  looked  at  one  another  with  amazement ; 
grew  pale,  and  held  their  peace.  At  last,  after  a  long 
pause,  Prince  Wladomir  broke  silence,  and  said: 

"  The  enigmas  of  the  wise  are,  to  the  foolish,  a  nut  in  a 
toothless  mouth,  a  pearl  which  the  cock  scratches  from  the 
sand,  a  lantern  in  the  hand  of  the  blind.  O  Princess,  be 
not  wroth  with  us,  that  we  neither  knew  the  use  nor  the 
value  of  thy  gift ;  we  misinterpreted  thy  purpose  ;  thought 
that  thou  hadst  cast  an  apple  of  contention  on  our  path,  to 
awaken  us  to  strife  and  deadly  feud  ;  therefore  each  gave 
up  his  share,  and  we  renounced  the  divisive  fruit,  whose 
sole  possession  neither  of  us  would  have  peaceably  allowed 
the  other  ! " 

"  You  have  given  sentence  on  yourselves/'  replied  the 
Fraulein:  "  if  an  apple  could  inflame  your  jealousy,  what 
fighting  would  ye  not  have  fought  for  a  myrtle  garland 
twined  about  a  crown  !  " 

With  this  response  she  dismissed  the  Knights,  who  now 
lamented  that  they  had  given  ear  to  the  unwise  arbiter,  and 
thoughtlessly  cast  away  the  pledge  of  love,  which,  as  it 
appeared,  had  been  the  casket  of  their  fairest  hopes.  They 
meditated  severally  how  they  might  still  execute  their  pur- 
pose, and  by  force  or  guile  get  possession  of  the  throne, 
with  its  lovely  occupant. 


LIBUSSA.  127 

Fraiilein  Libussa,  in  the  meanwhile,  was  not  spending  in 
idleness  the  three  days  given  her  for  consideration  ;  but 
diligently  taking  counsel  with  herself,  how  she  might  meet 
the  importunate  demand  of  her  people,  give  Bohemia  a 
Duke,  and  herself  a  husband  according  to  the  choice  of  her 
heart.  She  dreaded  lest  Prince  Wladomir  might  still  more 
pressingly  assail  her,  and  perhaps  deprive  her  of  the  throne. 
Necessity  combined  with  love  to  make  her  execute  a  plan 
with  which  she  had  often  entertained  herself  as  with  a 
pleasant  dream  ;  for  what  mortal's  head  has  not  some 
phantom  walking  in  it,  towards  which  he  turns  in  a  vacant 
hour,  to  play  with  it  as  with  a  puppet  ?  There  is  no  more 
pleasing  pastime  for  a  strait-shod  maiden,  when  her  galled 
corns  are  resting  from  the  toils  of  the  pavement,  than  to 
think  of  a  stately  and  commodious  equipage  ;  the  coy  beauty 
dreams  gladly  of  counts  sighing  at  her  feet;  Avarice  gets 
prizes  in  the  Lottery  ;  the  debtor  in  the  jail  falls  heir  to 
vast  possessions  ;  the  squanderer  discovers  the  Hermetic 
Secret ;  and  the  poor  wood-cutter  finds  a  treasure  in  the 
hollow  of  a  tree  ;  all  merely  in  fancy,  yet  not  without  the 
-enjoyment  of  a  secret  satisfaction.  The  gift  of  prophecy 
has  always  been  united  with  a  warm  imagination  ;  thus  the 
fair  Libussa  had,  like  others,  willingly  and  frequently  given 
heed  to  this  seductive  playmate,  which,  in  kind  companion- 
ship, had  always  entertained  her  with  the  figure  of  the 
young  Archer,  so  indelibly  impressed  upon  her  heart. 
Thousands  of  projects  came  into  her  mind,  which  Fancy 
palmed  on  her  as  feasible  and  easy.  At  one  time,  she 
formed  schemes  of  drawing  forth  her  darling  youth  from 
his  obscurity,  placing  him  in  the  army,  and  raising  him 
from  one  post  of  honor  to  another  ;  and  then  instantly  she 
bound  a  laurel  garland  about  his  temples,  and  led  him, 
crowned  with  victory  and  honor,  to  the  throne  she  could 
have  been  so  glad  to  share   with  him.     At  other  times,  she 


128 


MUSAEUS. 


gave  a  different  turn  to  the  romance ;  she  equipped  her 
darling  as  a  knight-errant,  seeking  for  adventures ;  brought 
him  to  her  Court,  and  changed  him  into  a  Huon  of  Bour- 
deaux  ;  nor  was  the  wondrous  furniture  wanting,  for  endowing 
him  as  highly  as  Friend  Oberon  did  his  ward.  But  when 
Common  Sense  again  got  possession  of  the  maiden's  soul, 
the  many-colored  forms  of  the  magic  lantern  waxed  pale 
in  the  beam  of  prudence,  and  the  fair  vision  vanished  into 
air.  She  then  bethought  her  what  hazards  would  attend 
such  an  enterprise  ;  what  mischief  for  her  people,  when 
jealousy  and  envy  raised  the  hearts  of  her  grandees  in 
rebellion  against  her,  and  the  alarum  beacon  of  discord 
gave  the  signal  for  uproar  and  sedition  in  the  land.  There- 
fore she  sedulously  hid  the  wishes  of  her  heart  from  the 
keen  glance  of  the  spy,  and  disclosed  no  glimpse  of  them 
to  any  one. 

But  now,  when  the  people  were  clamoring  for  a  Prince, 
the  matter  had  assumed  another  form  ;  the  point  would  now 
be  attained,  could  she  combine  her  wishes  with  the  national 
demand.  She  strengthened  her  soul  with  manly  resolution  ; 
and  as  the  third  day  dawned,  she  adorned  herself  with  all 
her  jewels,  and  her  head  was  encircled  with  the  myrtle 
crown.  Attended  by  her  maidens,  all  decorated  with  flower 
garlands,  she  ascended  the  throne,  full  of  lofty  courage,  and 
soft  dignity.  The  assemblage  of  knights  and  vassals  around 
her  stood  in  breathless  attention,  to  learn  from  her  lips  the 
name  of  the  happy  Prince  with  whom  she  had  resolved  to 
share  her  heart  and  throne.  "  Ye  nobles  of  my  people," 
thus  she  spoke,  "the  lot  of  your  destiny  still  lies  untouched 
in  the  urn  of  concealment ;  you  are  still  free  as  my  coursers 
that  graze  in  the  meadows,  before  the  bridle  and  the  bit  have 
curbed  them,  or  their  smooth  backs  have  been  pressed  by 
the  burden  of  the  saddle  and  the  rider.  It  now  rests  with 
you  to  signify,  whether,  in  the  space  allowed  me   for  the 


LIBUSSA. 


129 


choice  of  a  spouse,  your  hot  desire  for  a  Prince  to  rule  over 
you  has  cooled,  and  mven  place  to  more  calm  scrutiny  of 
this  intention ;  or  you  still  persist  inflexibly  in  your  de- 
mand." She  paused  for  a  moment ;  but  the  hum  of  the 
multitude,  the  whispering  and  buzzing,  and  looks  of  the 
whole  Senate,  did  not  long  leave  her  in  uncertainty,  and 
their  speaker  ratified  the  conclusion,  that  the  vote  was  still 
for  a  Duke.  "  Then  be  it  so  !  "  said  she.  "  The  die  is  cast, 
the  issue  of  it  stands  not  with  me!  The  gods  have  appoint- 
ed, for  the  kingdom  of  Bohemia,  a  Prince  who  shall  sway 
its  sceptre  with  justice  and  wisdom.  The  young  cedar  does 
not  yet  overtop  the  firm-set  oaks  ;  concealed  among  the 
trees  of  the  forest  it  grows,  encircled  with  ignoble  shrubs ; 
but  soon  it  shall  send  forth  branches  to  give  shade  to  its  roots, 
and  its  top  shall  touch  the  clouds.  Choose  a  deputation,  ye 
nobles  of  the  people,  of  twelve  honorable  men  from  among 
you,  that  they  hasten  to  seek  out  the  Prince,  and  at- 
tend him  to  the  throne.  My  steed  will  point  out  your  path; 
unloaded  and  free  it  shall  course  on  before  you  ;  and  as  a 
token  that  you  have  found  what  you  are  sent  forth  to  seek, 
observe  that  the  man  whom  the  gods  have  selected  for  your 
Prince,  at  the  time  when  you  approach  him,  will  be  eating 
his  repast  on  an  iron  table,  under  the  open  sky,  in  the 
shadow  of  a  solitary  tree.  To  him  you  shall  do  reverence, 
and  clothe  his  body  with  the  princely  robe.  The  v/hite 
horse  will  let  him  mount  it,  and  bring  him  hither  to  the  Court, 
that  he  may  be  my  husband  and  your  lord." 

She  then  left  the  assembly,  with  the  cheerful  yet  abashed 
countenance  which  brides  wear,  when  they  look  for  the 
arrival  of  the  bridegroom.  At  her  speech  there  was  much 
wondering ;  and  the  prophetic  spirit  breathing  from  it  work- 
ed upon  the  general  mind  like  a  divine  oracle,  which  the 
populace  blindly  believe,  and  which  the  thinkers  alone  at- 
tempt investigating.     The  messengers  of  honor  were  select- 


130  MUSAEUS. 

ed,  the  white  horse  stood  in  readiness,  caparisoned  with 
Asiatic  pomp,  as  if  it  had  been  saddled  for  carrying  the 
Grand  Seignior  to  mosque.  The  cavalcade  set  forth,  attended 
by  the  concourse,  and  the  loud  huzzaing  of  the  people ; 
and  the  white  horse  paced  on  before.  But  the  train  soon 
vanished  from  the  eyes  of  the  spectators ;  and  nothing  could 
be  seen  but  a  little  cloud  of  dust  whirling  up  afar  off;  for 
the  spirited  courser,  getting  to  its  mettle  when  it  reached 
the  open  air,  began  a  furious  gallop,  like  a  British  racer,  so 
that  the  squadron  of  deputies  could  hardly  keep  in  sight 
of  it.  Though  the  quick  steed  seemed  abandoned  to  its 
own  guidance,  an  unseen  power  directed  its  steps,  pulled 
its  bridle,  and  spurred  its  flanks.  Fraiilein  Libussa,  by  the 
magic  virtues  inherited  from  her  Elfine  mother,  had  con- 
trived so  to  instruct  the  courser,  that  it  turned  neither  to 
the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left  from  its  path,  but  with  winged 
Steps  hastened  on  to  its  destination ;  and  she  herself,  now 
that  all  combined  to  the  fulfilment  of  her  wishes,  awaited 
its  returning  rider  with  tender  longing. 

The  messengers  had  in  the  mean  time  been  soundly  gal- 
loped ;  already  they  had  travelled  many  leagues,  up  hill 
and  down  dale ;  had  swum  across  the  Elbe  and  the  Moldau  ; 
and  as  their  gastric  juices  made  them  think  of  dinner,  they 
recalled  to  mind  the  strange  table,  at  which,  according  to 
the  Fraulein's  oracle,  their  new  Prince  was  feeding.  Their 
glosses  and  remarks  on  it  were  many.  A  forward  knight 
observed  to  his  companions:  "In  my  poor  view  of  it,  our 
gracious  lady  has  it  in  her  eye  to  bilk  us,  and  make  April 
messengers  of  us ;  for  who  ever  heard  of  any  man  in  Bohe- 
mia that  ate  his  victuals  off  an  iron  table  ?  What  use  is  it  ? 
our  sharp  galloping  will  bring  us  nothing  but  mockery  and 
scorn."  Another,  of  a  more  penetrating  turn,  imagined  that 
the  iron  table  might  be  allegorical ;  that  they  should  perhaps 
fall  in  with  some   knight-errant,  who,  after  the   manner  of 


L1BUSSA.  131 

the  wandering  brotherhood,  had  sat  down  beneath  a  tree, 
and  spread  out  his  frugal  dinner  on  his  shield.  A  third  said 
jesting  :  "  I  fear  our  way  will  lead  us  down  to  the  workshop 
of  the  Cyclops ;  and  we  shall  find  the  lame  Vulcan,  or  one 
of  his  journeymen,  dining  from  his  stithy,  and  must  bring  him 
to  our  Venus." 

Amid  such  conversation,  they  observed  their  guiding 
quadruped,  which  had  got  a  long  start  of  them,  turn  across 
a  new-ploughed  field,  and,  to  their  wonder,  halt  beside  the 
ploughman.  They  dashed  rapidly  forward,  and  found  a 
peasant  sitting  on  an  upturned  plough,  and  eating  his  black 
bread  from  the  iron  ploughshare,  which  he  was  using  as  a 
table,  under  the  shadow  of  a  fresh  pear-tree.  He  seemed 
to  like  the  stately  horse  ;  he  patted  it,  offered  it  a  bit  of 
bread,  and  it  ate  from  his  hand.  The  Embassy,  of  course, 
was  much  surprised  at  this  phenomenon  ;  nevertheless,  no 
member  of  it  doubted  but  that  they  had  found  their  man. 
They  approached  him  reverently,  and  the  eldest  among 
them  opened  his  lips,  and  said  :  "  The  Duchess  of  Bohemia 
has  sent  us  hither,  and  bids  us  signify  to  thee  the  will  and 
purpose  of  the  gods,  that  thou  change  thy  plough  with  the 
throne  of  this  kingdom,  and  thy  goad  with  its  sceptre.  She 
selects  thee  for  her  husband,  to  rule  with  her  over  the  Bo- 
hemians." The  young  peasant  thought  they  meant  to  ban- 
ter him  ;  a  thing  little  to  his  taste,  especially  as  he  supposed 
that  they  had  guessed  his  love-secret,  and  were  now  come 
to  mock  his  weakness.  Therefore  he  answered  somewhat 
stoutly,  to  meet  mockery  with  mockery  :  "  But  is  your  duke- 
dom worth  this  plough?  If  the  prince  cannot  eat  with 
better  relish,  drink  more  joyously,  or  sleep  more  soundly 
than  the  peasant,  then  in  sooth  it  is  not  worth  while  to 
change  this  kindly  furrow-field  with  the  Bohemian  kingdom, 
or  this  smooth  ox-goad  with  its  sceptre.  For  tell  me,  are 
not  three  grains  of  salt  as  good  for  seasoning  my  morsel  as 
three  bushels  ?  " 


1C2  MUSAEUS. 

Then  one  of  the  Twelve  answered  :  "  The  purblind  mole 
digs  underground  for  worms  to  feed  upon  ;  for  he  has  no 
eyes  which  can  endure  the  day-light,  and  no  feet  which  are 
formed  for  running  like  the  nimble  roe  ;  the  scaly  crab 
creeps  to  and  fro  in  the  mud  of  lakes  and  marshes,  delights 
to  dwell  under  tree-roots  and  shrubs  by  the  banks  of  rivers, 
for  he  wants  the  fins  for  swimming  ;  and  the  barn-door  cock, 
cooped  up  within  his  hen-fence,  risks  no  flight  over  the  low 
wall,  for  he  is  too  timorous  to  trust  in  his  wings,  like  the 
high-soaring  bird  of  prey.  Have  eyes  for  seeing,  feet  for 
going,  fins  for  swimming,  and  pinions  for  flight  been  allotted 
thee,  thou  wilt  not  grub  like  a  mole  underground ;  nor  hide 
thyself  like  a  dull  shell-fish  among  mud  ;  nor,  like  the  king 
of  the  poultry,  be  content  with  crowing  from  the  barn-door  ; 
but  come  forward  into  day  ;  run,  swim,  or  fly  into  the  clouds, 
as  Nature  may  have  furnished  thee  with  gifts.  For  it  suf- 
fices not  the  active  man  to  continue  what  he  is  ;  but  he 
strives  to  become  what  he  may  be.  Therefore,  do  thou  try 
being  what  the  gods  have  called  thee  to ;  then  wilt  thou 
judge  rightly  whether  the  Bohemian  kingdom  is  worth  an 
acre  of  corn-land  in  barter,  yea  or  not." 

This  earnest  oration  of  the  Deputy,  in  whose  face  no 
jesting  feature  was  to  be  discerned  ;  and  still  more  the  in- 
signia of  royalty,  the  purple  robe,  the  sceptre,  and  the  gold- 
en sword,  which  the  ambassadors  brought  forward  as  a  ref- 
erence and  certificate  of  their  mission's  authenticity,  at  last 
overcame  the  mistrust  of  the  doubting  ploughman.  All  at 
once,  light  rose  on  his  soul ;  a  rapturous  thought  awoke  in 
him,  that  Libussa  had  discovered  the  feelings  of  his  heart ; 
had,  by  her  skill  in  seeing  what  was  secret,  recognised  his 
faithfulness  and  constancy ;  and  was  about  to  recompense 
him,  so  as  he  had  never  ventured  even  in  dreams  to  hope. 
The  gift  of  prophecy  predicted  to  him  by  her  oracle  then 
came  into  his  mind  ;  and  he  thought  that  now  or   never  it 


LIBUSSA.  133 

must  be  fulfilled.  Instantly  he  grasped  his  hazel  staff; 
stuck  it  deep  into  the  ploughed  land  ;  heaped  loose  mould 
about  it,  as  you  plant  a  tree  ;  and  lo  !  immediately  the  staff 
got  buds,  and  shot  forth  sprouts  and  boughs  with  leaves  and 
flowers.  Two  of  the  green  twigs  withered,  and  their  dry 
leaves  became  the  sport  of  the  wind  ;  but  the  third  grew  up 
the  more  luxuriantly,  and  its  fruits  ripened.  Then  camethe 
spirit  of  prophecy  upon  the  rapt  ploughman  ;  he  opened  his 
mouth,  and  said  :  "  Ye  messengers  of  the  Princess  Libussa 
and  of  the  Bohemian  people,  hear  the  words  of  Primislaus 
the  son  of  Mnatha,  the  stout-hearted  Knight,  for  whom, 
blown  upon  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  the  mists  of  the 
Future  part  asunder.  The  man  who  guided  the  plough- 
share, ye  have  called  to  seize  the  handles  of  your  prince- 
dom, before  his  day's  work  was  ended.  O  that  the  glebe 
had  been  broken  by  the  furrow,  to  the  boundary-stone  ;  so 
had  Bohemia  remained  an  independent  kingdom  to  the  ut- 
most ages  !  But  since  ye  have  disturbed  the  labor  of  the 
plougher  too  early,  the  limits  of  your  country  will  become 
the  heritage  of  your  neighbor,  and  your  distant  posterity 
will  be  joined  to  him  in  unchangeable  union.  The  three 
twigs  of  the  budding  Staff  are  three  sons  which  your  Prin- 
cess shall  bear  me  ;  two  of  them,  as  unripe  shoots,  shall 
speedily  wither  away ;  but  the  third  shall  inherit  the  throne, 
and  by  him  shall  the  fruit  of  late  grandchildren  be  matured, 
till  the  Eagle  soar  over  your  mountains  and  nestle  in  the 
land  ;  yet  soon  fly  thence,  and  return  as  to  his  own  posses- 
sion. And  then,  when  the  Son  of  the  gods  arises,*  who  is 
his  plougher's  friend,  and  smites  the  slave-fetters  from  his 
limbs,  then  mark  it,  Posterity,  for  thou  shalt  bless  thy  des- 
tiny !  For  when  he  has  trodden  under  his  feet  the  Dragon 
of  Superstition,  he  will  stretch  out  his  arm  against  the  wax- 

*  Emperor  Joseph  II. 
VOL.  I.  12 


134 


MUSAEUS. 


ing  moon,  to  pluck  it  from  the  firmament,  that  he  may  him- 
self illuminate  the  world  as  a  benignant  star." 

The  venerable  deputation  stood  in  silent  wonder,  gazing 
at  the  prophetic  man,  like  dumb  idols ;  it  was  as  if  a  god 
were  speaking  by  his  lips.  He  himself  turned  away  from 
them  to  the  two  white  steers,  the  associates  of  his  toilsome 
labor  ;  he  unyoked  and  let  them  go  in  freedom  from  their 
farm-service  ;  at  which  they  began  frisking  joyfully  upon 
the  grassy  lea,  but  at  the  same  time  visibly  decreased  in 
bulk ;  like  thin  vapor  melted  into  air,  and  vanished  out  of 
sight.  Then  Primislaus  doffed  his  peasant  wooden  shoes, 
and  proceeded  to  the  brook  to  clean  himself.  The  precious 
robes  were  laid  upon  him  ;  he  begirt  himself  with  the  sword, 
and  had  the  golden  spurs  put  on  him  like  a  knight ;  then 
stoutly  sprang  upon  the  white  horse,  which  bore  him  peace- 
ably along.  Being  now  about  to  quit  his  still  asylum,  he 
commanded  the  ambassadors  to  bring  his  wooden  shoes 
after  him,  and  keep  them  carefully,  as  a  token  that  the 
humblest  among  the  people  had  once  been  exalted  to  the 
highest  dignity  in  Bohemia  ;  and  as  a  memorial  for  his 
posterity  to  bear  their  elevation  meekly  ;  and,  mindful  of 
their  origin,  to  respect  and  defend  the  peasantry,  from  which 
themselves  had  sprung.  Hence  came  the  ancient  practice 
of  exhibiting  a  pair  of  wooden  shoes  before  the  Kings  of 
Bohemia  on  their  coronation  ;  a  custom  held  in  observance 
till  the  male  line  of  Primislaus  became  extinct. 

The  planted  hazel  rod  bore  fruit  and  grew  ;  striking  roots 
out  on  every  side,  and  sending  forth  new  shoots,  till  at  last 
the  whole  field  was  changed  into  a  hazel  copse ;  a  circum- 
stance of  great  advantage  to  the  neighboring  township, 
which  included  it  within  their  bounds ;  for,  in  memory  of 
this  miraculous  plantation,  they  obtained  a  grant  from  the 
Bohemian  Kings,  exempting  them  from  ever  paying  any 
public  contribution  in  the  land,  except  a  pint  of  hazel  nuts  ; 


LIBUSSA. 


135 


■which  royal   privilege   their   late   descendants,  as  the   story 
runs,  are  enjoying  at  this  day.* 

Though  the  white  courser,  which  was  now  proudly  carry- 
ing the  bridegroom  to  his  mistress,  seemed  to  outrun  the 
winds,  Primislaus  did  not  fail  now  and  then  to  let  him  feel 
the  golden  spurs,  to  push  him  on  still  faster.  The  quick 
gallop  seemed  to  him  a  tortoise-pace,  so  keen  was  his  desire 
to  have  the  fair  Libussa,  whose  form,  after  seven  years,  was 
still  so  new  and  lovely  in  his  soul,  once  more  before  his 
eyes  ;  and  this  not  merely  as  a  show,  like  some  bright,  pe- 
culiar anemone  in  the  variegated  bed  of  a  flower-garden, 
but  for  the  blissful  appropriation  of  victorious  love.  He 
thought  only  of  the  myrtle-crown,  which,  in  the  lover's  val- 
uation, far  outshines  the  crown  of  sovereignty  ;  and  had  he 
balanced  love  and  rank  against  each  other,  the  Bohemian 
throne  without  Libussa  would  have  darted  up,  like  a  clipped 
ducat  in  the  scales  of  the  money-changer. 

The  sun  was  verging  to  decline,  when  the  new  Prince 
with  his  escort  entered  Vizegrad.  Fraiilein  Libussa  was  in 
her  garden,  where  she  had  just  plucked  a  basket  of  ripe  plums, 
when  her  future  husband's  arrival  was  announced  to  her. 
She  went  forth  modestly,  with  all  her  maidens,  to  meet  him  ; 
received  him  as  a  bridegroom  conducted  to  her  by  the  gods, 
veiling  the  election  of  her  heart  under  a  show  of  submis- 
sion to  the  will  of  Higher  Powers.  The  eyes  of  the  Court 
were  eagerly  directed  to  the  stranger  ;  in  whom,  however, 
nothing  could  be  seen  but  a  fair,  handsome  man.  In  respect 
of  outward  form,  there  were  several  courtiers  who,  in  thought, 
did  not  hesitate  to  measure  with  him  ;  and  could  not   under- 

*  Eneas  Sylvius  affirms  that  he  saw,  with  his  own  eyes,  a  renewal 
of  this  charter  from  Charles  IV.  Vidi  inter  privilegia  regni  literas 
Caroli  Quarti,  Romanorum  Imperatoris,  dim  Sigismundi  patris,  in 
quibus  (villa  illius  incoloe.)  libertate  donantur ;  nee  plus  tributi  pen- 
dere  jubentur,  quam  nucum  illius  arboris  exiguam  mensuram. 


136 


MUSAEUS. 


stand  why  the  gods  should  have  disdained  the  antechamber, 
and  not  selected  from  it  some  accomplished  and  ruddy  lord, 
rather  than  the  sun-burnt  ploughman,  to  assist  the  Princess 
in  her  government.  Especially  in  Wladomir  and  Mizisla, 
it  was  observable  that  their  pretensions  were  reluctantly 
withdrawn.  It  behoved  the  Fraiilein  then  to  vindicate  the 
work  of  the  gods ;  and  show  that  Squire  Primislaus  had 
been  indemnified  for  the  defect  of  splendid  birth,  by  a  fair 
equivalent  in  sterling  common  sense  and  depth  of  judgment. 
She  had  caused  a  royal  banquet  to  be  prepared,  no  whit  inferior 
to  the  feast  with  which  the  hospitable  Dido  entertained  her 
pious  guest  iEneas.  The  cup  of  welcome  passed  diligently 
round,  the  presents  of  the  Princess  had  excited  cheerfulness 
and  good-humor,  and  a  part  of  the  night  had  already  van- 
ished amid  jests  and  pleasant  pastime,  when  Libussa  set  on 
foot  a  game  at  riddles  ;  and,  as  the  discovery  of  hidden 
things  was  her  proper  trade,  she  did  not  fail  to  solve,  with 
satisfactory  decision,  all  the  riddles  that  were  introduced. 

When  her  own  turn  came  to  propose  one,  she  called 
Prince  Wladomir,  Mizisla,  and  Primislaus  to  her,  and  said  : 
"  Fair  sirs,  it  is  now  for  you  to  read  a  riddle,  which  I  shall 
submit  to  you,  that  it  may  be  seen  who  among  you  is  the 
wisest  and  of  keenest  judgment.  I  intended,  for  you  three, 
a  present  of  this  basket  of  plums,  which  I  plucked  in  my 
garden.  One  of  you  shall  have  the  half  and  one  over  ;  the 
next  shall  have  the  half  of  what  remains,  and  one  over  ;  the 
third  shall  again  have  the  half,  and  three  over.  Now,  if  so 
be  that  the  basket  is  then  emptied,  tell  me,  how  many 
plums  are  in  it  now  ?  " 

The  headlong  Hitter  Mizisla  took  the  measure  of  the 
fruit  with  his  eye,  not  the  sense  of  the  riddle  with  his  un- 
derstanding, and  said  :  "  What  can  be  decided  with  the 
sword  I  might  undertake  to  decide  ;  but  thy  riddles,  gracious 
Princess,  are,  I  fear,  too  hard  for  me.     Yet  at  thy  request 


LIBUSSA. 


137 


I  will  risk  an  arrow  at  the  bull's-eye,  let  it  hit  or  miss ;  I 
suppose  there  is  a  matter  of  some  threescore  plums  in  the 
basket." 

"  Thou  hast  missed,  dear  Knight,"  said  Fraulein  Libussa. 
u  Were  there  as  many  again,  half  as  many,  and  a  third 
part  as  many  as  the  basket  has  in  it,  and  five  over,  there 
would  then  be  as  many  above  threescore  as  there  are  now 
below  it." 

Prince  Wladomir  computed  as  laboriously  and  anxiously 
as  if  the  post  of  Comptroller-General  of  Finances  had  de- 
pended on  a  right  solution  ;  and  at  last  brought  out  the  net 
product  five-and-forty.     The  Fraulein  then  said  : 

"  Were  there  a  third,  and  a  half,  and  a  sixth  as  many 
again  of  them,  the  number  would  exceed  forty-five,  as  much 
as  it  now  falls  short  of  it." 

Though,  in  our  days,  any  man  endowed  with  the  arith- 
metical faculty  of  a  tapster,  might  have  solved  this  problem 
without  difficulty,  yet,  for  an  untaught  computant,  the  gift 
of  divination  was  essential,  if  he  meant  to  get  out  of  the 
affair  with  honor,  and  not  stick  in  the  middle  of  it  with  dis- 
grace. As  the  wise  Primislaus  was  happily  provided  with 
this  gift,  it  cost  him  neither  art  nor  exertion  to  find  the 
answer. 

"  Familiar  companion  of  the  heavenly  Powers,"  said  he, 
"  whoso  undertakes  to  pierce  thy  high  celestial  meaning, 
undertakes  to  soar  after  the  eagle  when  he  hides  himself  in 
the  clouds.  Yet  I  will  pursue  thy  hidden  flight,  as  far  as  the 
eye,  to  which  thou  hast  given  it  light,  will  reach.  I  judge 
that  of  the  plums  which  thou  hast  laid  in  the  basket,  there 
are  thirty  in  number,  not  one  fewer,  and  none  more" 

The  Fraulein   cast  a  kindly   glance   on   him,  and  said  : 
M  Thou  tracest  the  glimmering  ember,  which  lies  deep-hid 
among  the  ashes;  for  thee   light  dawns  out  of  darkness  and 
vapor  ;  thou  hast  read  my  riddle." 
12* 


138 


MUSAEUS. 


Thereupon  she  opened  her  basket,  and  counted  out 
fifteen  plums,  and  one  over,  into  Prince  Wladomir's  hat, 
and  fourteen  remained.  Of  these  she  gave  Ritter  Mizisla 
seven  and  one  over,  and  there  were  still  six  in  the  basket ; 
half  of  these  she  gave  the  wise  Primislaus  and  three  over, 
and  the  basket  was  empty.  The  whole  Court  was  lost  in 
wonder  at  the  fair  Libussa's  ciphering  gift,  and  at  the 
penetration  of  her  cunning  spouse.  Nobody  could  compre- 
hend how  human  wit  was  able,  on  the  one  hand,  to  enclose 
a  common  number  so  mysteriously  in  words  ;  or,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  drag  it  forth  so  accurately  from  its  enigmatical 
concealment.  The  empty  basket  she  conferred  upon  the 
two  Knights,  who  had  failed  in  soliciting  her  love,  to  remind 
them  that  their  suit  was  voided.  Hence  comes  it,  that,  when 
a  wooer  is  rejected,  people  say,  His  Jove  has  given  him  the 
basket,  even  to  the  present  day. 

So  soon  as   all  was  ready  for  the  nuptials  and  coronation, 
both  these  ceremonies  were  transacted  with  becoming  pomp. 
Thus  the   Bohemian    people   had   obtained  a  Duke,  and  the 
fair  Libussa  had  obtained  a  husband,  each  according  to  the 
wish  of  their  hearts  ;  and,  what  was  somewhat  wonderful,  by 
virtue   of  Chicane,   an  agent   who  has  not  the  character  of 
being  too  beneficent  or   prosperous.     And  if  either  of  the 
parties  had  been  overreached   in  any   measure,  it  at   least 
was  not  the  fair  Libussa.     Bohemia  had  a  Duke  in  name, 
butthe    administration  now,   as   formerly,  continued   in  the 
female  hand.     Primislaus  was  the  proper  pattern  of  a  tract- 
able, obedient    husband,    and   contested    with    his    Duchess 
neither  the  direction  of  her  house  nor  of  her  empire.     His 
sentiments  and  wishes   sympathized   with   hers,  as  perfectly 
as  two   accordant   strings,  of  which  when  the  one  is  struck, 
the   other  voluntarily  trembles  to  the   self-same   note.      Nor 
was   Libussa  like  those   haughty,  overbearing  dames,    who 
would   pass   for  great  matches  ;  and   having,  as  they  think, 


LIBUSSA.  139 

made  the  fortune  of  some  hapless  wight,  continually  remind 
him  of  his  wooden  shoes  ;  but  she  resembled  the  renowned 
Palmyran  Queen  ;  and  ruled,  as  Zenobia  did  her  kindly 
Odenatus,  by  superiority  of  mental  talent. 

The  happy  couple  lived  in  the  enjoyment  of  unchange- 
able love  ;  according  to  the  fashion  of  those  times,  when  the 
instinct  which  united  hearts  was  as  firm  and  durable  as  the 
mortar  and  cement  with  which  they  built  their  indestructible 
strongholds.  Duke  Primislaus  soon  became  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  and  valiant  knights  of  his  time,  and  the  Bo- 
hemian Court  the  most  splendid  in  Germany.  By  degrees, 
many  knights  and  nobles,  and  multitudes  of  people  from  all 
quarters  of  the  empire,  drew  to  it ;  so  that  Vizegrad  became 
too  narrow  for  its  inhabitants  ;  and,  in  consequence,  Libussa 
called  her  officers  before  her,  and  commanded  them  to 
found  a  city,  on  the  spot  where  they  should  find  a  man  at 
noontide  making  the  wisest  use  of  his  teeth.  They  set 
forth,  and  at  the  time  appointed  found  a  man  engaged  in 
sawing  a  block  of  wood.  They  judged  that  this  industrious 
character  was  turning  his  saw-teeth,  at  noontide,  to  a  far 
better  use  than  the  parasite  does  his  jaw-teeth  by  the 
table  of  the  great ;  and  doubted  not  but  they  had  found  the 
spot  intended  by  the  Princess  for  the  site  of  their  town. 
They  marked  out  a  space  upon  the  green  with  the  plough- 
share, for  the  circuit  of  the  city  walls.  On  asking  the 
workman  what  he  meant  to  make  of  his  sawed  timber,  he  re- 
plied, "  Prah,"  which  in  the  Bohemian  language  signifies  a 
door-threshold.  So  Libussa  called  her  new  city  Praha,  that 
is  Prague,  the  well-known  capital  upon  the  Moldau.  In 
process  of  time,  Primislaus's  predictions  were  punctually 
fulfilled.  His  spouse  became  the  mother  of  three  Princes  ; 
two  died  in  youth,  but  the  third  grew  to  manhood,  and  from 
him  went  forth  a  glorious  royal  line,  which  flourished  for 
long  centuries  on  the  Bohemian  throne. 


140  MUSAEUS. 

III. 

MELECHSALA. 

Father  Gregory,  the  Ninth  of  the  name  who  sat  upon 
St.  Peter's  chair,  had  once,  in  a  sleepless  night,  an  inspiration 
from  the  spirit,  not  of  prophecy,  but  of  political  chicane,  to 
clip  the  wings  of  the  German  Eagle,  lest  it  rose  above  the 
head  of  his  own  haughty  Rome.  No  sooner  had  the  first 
sunbeam  enlightened  the  venerable  Vatican,  than  his  Holi- 
ness summoned  his  attendant  chamberlain,  and  ordered  him 
to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Sacred  College  ;  where  Father 
Gregory,  in  his  pontifical  apparel,  celebrated  high  mass, 
and  after  its  conclusion  moved  a  new  Crusade  ;  to  which  all 
his  cardinals,  readily  surmising  the  wise  objects  of  this 
armament  for  God's  glory,  and  the  common  weal  of  Christ- 
endom, gave  prompt  and  cordial  assent. 

Thereupon,  a  cunning  Nuncio  started  instantly  for  Naples, 
where  the  Emperor  Frederick  of  Swabia  had  his  Court; 
and  took  with  him  in  his  travelling-bag  two  boxes,  one  of 
which  was  filled  with  the  sweet  honey  of  persuasion  ;  the 
other  with  tinder,  steel,  and  flint,  to  light  the  fire  of  excom- 
munication, should  the  mutinous  son  of  the  Church  hesitate 
to  pay  the  Holy  Father  due  obedience.  On  arriving  at 
Court,  the  Legate  opened  his  sweet  box,  and  copiously  gave 
out  its  smooth  confectionery.  But  the  Emperor  Frederick 
was  a  man  delicate  in  palate  ;  he  soon  smacked  the  taste  of 
the  physic  hidden  in  this  sweetness,  and  he  knew  too  well  its 
effects  on  the  alimentary  canal  ;  so  he  turned  away  from 
the  treacherous  mess,  and  declined  having  any  more  of  it. 
Then  the   Legate  opened  his  other  box,  and  made  it  spit 


MELECHSALA.  141 

some  sparks,  which  singed  the  Imperial  beard,  and  stung 
the  skin  like  nettles ;  whereby  the  Emperor  discovered  that 
the  Holy  Father's  finger  might,  ere  long,  be  heavier  on  him 
than  the  Legate's  loins ;  therefore  plied  himself  to  the  pur- 
pose, engaged  to  lead  the  armies  of  the  Lord  against  the 
Unbelievers  in  the  East,  and  appointed  his  Princes  to  as- 
semble for  an  expedition  to  the  Holy  Land.  The  Princes 
communicated  the  Imperial  order  to  the  Counts,  the  Counts 
summoned  out  their  vassals,  the  Knights  and  Nobles ; 
the  Knights  equipped  their  Squires  and  Horsemen ;  all 
mounted,  and  collected,  each  under  his  proper  banner. 

Except  the  night  of  St.  Bartholomew,  no  night  has  ever 
caused  such  sorrow  and  tribulation  in  the  world,  as  this, 
which  God's  Vicegerent  upon  Earth  had  employed  in 
watching  to  produce  a  ruinous  Crusade.  Ah,  how  many 
warm  tears  flowed,  as  knight  and  squire  pricked  off,  and 
blessed  their  dears  !  A  glorious  race  of  German  heroes 
never  saw  the  light,  because  of  this  departure  ;  but  languish- 
ed in  embryo,  as  the  germs  of  plants  in  the  Syrian  desert, 
when  the  hot  Sirocco  has  passed  over  them.  The  ties  of  a 
thousand  happy  marriages  were  violently  torn  asunder ; 
ten  thousand  brides  in  sorrow  hung  their  garlands,  like  the 
daughters  of  Jerusalem,  upon  the  Babylonian  willow-trees, 
and  sat  and  wept ;  and  a  hundred  thousand  lovely  maidens 
grew  up  for  the  bridegroom  in  vain,  and  blossomed  like  a 
rose-bed  in  a  solitary  cloister  garden,  for  there  was  no  hand 
to  pluck  them,  and  they  withered  away  unenjoyed.  Among 
the  sighing  spouses,  whom  this  sleepless  night  of  his  Holi- 
ness deprived  of  their  husbands,  were  St.  Elizabeth,  the 
Landgraf  of  Thuringia's  lady,  and  Ottilia,  Countess  of  Glei- 
chen ;  a  wife  not  standing,  it  is  true,  in  the  odor  of 
sanctity,  yet,  in  respect  of  personal  endowments  and 
virtuous  conduct,  inferior  to  none  of  her  contempora- 
ries. 


142  MUSAEUS. 

Landgraf  Ludwig,  a  trusty  feudatory  of  the  Emperor, 
had  issued  general  orders  for  his  vassals  to  collect,  and 
attend  him  to  the  camp.  But  most  of  them  sought  pretexts 
for  politely  declining  this  honor.  One  was  tormented  by 
the  gout,  another  by  the  stone  ;  one  had  got  his  horses 
foundered,  another's  armory  had  been  destroyed  by  fire. 
Count  Ernst  of  Gleichen,  however,  with  a  little  troop  of 
stout  retainers,  who  were  free  and  unincumbered,  and  took 
pleasure  in  the  prospect  of  distant  adventures,  equipped  their 
squires  and  followers,  obeyed  the  orders  of  the  Landgraf, 
and  led  their  people  to  the  place  of  rendezvous.  The 
Count  had  been  wedded  for  two  years  ;  and  in  this  period 
his  lovely  consort  had  presented  him  with  two  children,  a 
little  master  and  a  little  miss,  which,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  those  stalwart  ages,  had  been  born  without  the  aid  of 
science,  fair  and  softly  as  the  dew  from  the  Twilight.  A 
third  pledge,  which  she  carried  under  her  heart,  was,  by 
virtue  of  the  Pope's  insomnolency,  destined,  when  it  saw  the 
light,  to  forego  the  embraces  of  its  father.  Although  Count 
Ernst  put  on  the  rugged  aspect  of  a  man,  Nature  main- 
tained her  rights  in  him,  and  he  could  not  hide  his  strong 
feelings  of  tenderness,  when  at  parting  he  quitted  the  em- 
braces of  his  weeping  spouse.  As  in  dumb  sorrow  he  was 
leaving  her,  she  turned  hastily  to  the  cradle  of  her  children; 
plucked  out  of  it  her  sleeping  boy  ;  pressed  it  softly  to  her 
breast,  and  held  it  with  tearful  eyes  to  the  father,  to  imprint 
a  parting  kiss  on  its  unconscious  cheek.  With  her  little 
girl  she  did  the  same.  This  gave  the  Count  a  sharp  twinge 
about  the  heart;  his  lips  began  to  quiver,  his  mouth  visibly 
increased  in  breadth ;  and  sobbing  aloud,  he  pressed  the 
infants  to  his  steel  cuirass,  under  which  there  beat  a  very 
soft  and  feeling  heart ;  kissed  them  from  their  sleep,  and 
recommended  them,  together  with  their  much-loved  mother, 
to  the  keeping  of  God  and  all  the  Saints.     As  he   winded 


MELECHSALA.  143 

down  along  the  castle  road  with  his  harnessed  troop  from 
the  high  fortress  of  Gleichen,  she  looked  after  him  with 
desolate  sadness,  till  his  banner,  upon  which  she  herself 
had  wrought  the  Red-cross  with  fine  purple  silk,  no  longer 
floated  in  her  vision. 

Landgraf  Ludwig  was  exceedingly  contented  as  he  saw 
his  stately  vassal,  and  his  knights  and  squires,  advancing 
with  their  flag  unfurled  ;  but  on  viewing  him  more  narrowly, 
and  noticing  his  trouble,  he  grew  wroth  ;  for  he  thought  the 
Count  was  faint  of  heart,  and  out  of  humor  with  the  expe- 
dition, and  following  it  against  his  will.  Therefore  his  brow 
wrinkled  down  into  frowns,  and  the  landgraphic  nostrils 
sniffed  displeasure.  Count  Ernst  had  a  fine  pathognomic 
eye  ;  he  soon  observed  what  ailed  his  lord,  and  going  boldly 
up,  disclosed  to  him  the  reason  of  his  cloudy  mood.  His 
words  were  as  oil  on  the  vinegar  of  discontent ;  the  Land- 
graf, with  honest  frankness,  seized  his  vassal's  hand,  and 
said  :  "Ah,  is  it  so,  good  cousin  ?  Then  the  shoe  pinches 
both  of  us  in  one  place  ;  Elizabeth's  good-b'ye  has  given 
me  a  sore  heart  too.  But  be  of  good  cheer  !  While  we 
are  fighting  abroad,  our  wives  will  be  praying  at  home,  that 
we  may  return  with  renown  and  glory."  Such  was  the 
custom  of  the  country  in  those  days  ;  while  the  husband 
took  the  field,  the  wife  continued  in  her  chamber,  solitary 
and  still,  fasting  and  praying,  and  making  vows  without  end, 
for  his  prosperous  return.  This  old  usage  is  not  universal 
in  the  land  at  present ;  as  the  last  crusade  of  our  German 
warriors  to  the  distant  West,*  by  the  rich  increase  of  fam- 
ilies during  the  absence  of  their  heroic  heads,  has  sufficiently 
made  manifest. 

The  pious  Elizabeth  felt  no  less  pain  at  parting  from  her 

*  Of  the  Hessian   troops  to  America,  during  the  Revolutionary 
War.  — Ed. 


144  MUSAEUS. 

husband,  than  her  fair  companion  in  distress,  the  Countess 
of  Gleichen.  Though  her  lord  the  Landgraf  was  rather 
of  a  stormy  disposition,  she  had  lived  with  him  in  the  most 
perfect  unity ;  and  his  terrestrial  mass  was  by  degrees  so 
imbued  with  the  sanctity  of  his  helpmate,  that  some  bene- 
ficent historians  have  appended  to  him  likewise  the  title  of 
Saint;  which,  however,  must  be  looked  on  rather  as  a  char- 
itable compliment,  than  a  real  statement  of  the  truth ;  as 
with  us,  in  these  times,  the  epithets  of  great,  magnanimous, 
immortal,  erudite,  profound,  for  the  most  part  indicate  no 
more  than  a  little  outward  edge-gilding.  So  much  appears 
from  all  the  circumstances,  that  the  elevated  couple  did  not 
always  harmonize  in  works  of  holiness  ;  nay,  that  the  Powers 
of  Heaven  had  to  interfere  at  times  in  the  domestic  differ- 
ences thence  arising,  to  maintain  the  family  peace ;  as 
the  following  example  will  evince.  The  pious  lady,  to  the 
great  dissatisfaction  of  her  courtiers  and  lip-licking  pages, 
had  the  custom  of  reserving  from  the  Landgrafs  table  the 
most  savory  dishes  for  certain  hungry  beggars,  who  inces- 
santly beleaguered  the  castle  ;  and  she  used  to  give  herself 
the  satisfaction,  when  the  court  dinner  was  concluded,  of 
distributing  this  kind  donation  to  the  poor  with  her  own 
hands.  According  to  the  courtly  system,  whereby  thrift  on 
the  small  scale  is  always  to  make  up  for  wastefulness  on 
the  great,  the  meritorious  cook-department  every  now  and 
then  complained  of  this  as  earnestly  as  if  the  whole  domin- 
ions of  Thuringia  had  run  the  risk  of  being  eaten  up  by 
these  lank-sided  guests ;  and  the  Landgraf,  who  dabbled 
somewhat  in  economy,  regarded  it  as  so  important  an  affair, 
that,  in  all  seriousness,  he  strictly  forbade  his  consort  this 
labor  of  love,  which  had  through  time  become  her  spiritual 
hobby.  Nevertheless,  one  day  the  impulse  of  benevolence, 
and  the  temptation  to  break  through  her  husband's  orders  in 
pursuit  of  it,  became  too  strong  to   be   resisted.     She  beck- 


MELECHSALA.  145 

oned  to  her  women,  who  were  then  uncovering  the  table,  to 
take  off  some  untouched  dishes,  with  a  few  rolls  of  wheaten 
bread,  and  keep  them  as  smuggled  goods.  These  she 
packed  into  a  little  basket,  and  stole  out  with  it  by  a  postern 
gate. 

But  the  watchers  had  got  wind  of  it,  and  betrayed  it  to 
the  Landgraf,  who  gave  instant  orders  for  a  strict  guard  upon 
all  the  outlets  of  the  castle.  Being  told  that  his  lady  had 
been  seen  gliding  with  a  heavy  load  through  the  postern,  he 
proceeded  with  majestic  strides  across  the  court-yard,  and 
stept  out  upon  the  draw-bridge,  as  if  to  take  a  mouthful  of 
fresh  air.  Alas !  The  pious  lady  heard  the  jingling  of  his 
golden  spurs  ;  and  fear  and  terror  came  upon  her,  till  her 
knees  trembled,  and  she  could  not  move  another  footstep. 
She  concealed  the  victual-basket  under  her  apron,  that 
modest  covering  of  female  charms  and  roguery  ;  but  what- 
ever privileges  this  inviolable  asylum  may  enjoy  against 
excisemen  and  officers  of  customs,  it  is  no  wall  of  brass  for 
a  husband.  The  Landgraf,  smelling  mischief,  hastened  to 
the  place  ;  his  sun-burnt  cheeks  were  reddened  with  indig- 
nation, and  the  veins  swelled  fearfully  upon  his  brow. 

"  Wife,"  said  he,  in  a  hasty  tone,  "  what  hast  thou  in  the 
basket  thou  art  hiding  from  me  ?  Is  it  victuals  from  my 
table,  for  thy  vile  crew  of  vagabonds  and  beggars  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all,  dear  lord,"  replied  Elizabeth,  meekly,  but 
with  embarrassment,  who  held  herself  entitled,  without  pre- 
judice to  her  sanctity,  to  make  a  little  slip  in  the  present 
critical  position  of  affairs ;  "  it  is  nothing  but  a  few  roses 
that  I  gathered  in  the  garden." 

Had  the  Landgraf  been  one  of  our  contemporaries,  he 
must  have  believed  his  lady  on  her  word  of  honor,  and  de- 
sisted from  farther  search  ;  but  in  those  wild  times  the 
minds  of  men  were  not  so  polished. 

"  Let  us  see,"  said   the   imperious  husband,  and   sharply 

VOL.  I.  13 


146 


MUSAEUS. 


pulled  the  apron  to  a  side.  The  tender  wife  had  no  defence 
against  this  violence  but  by  recoiling.  "O!  softly,  softly, 
my  dear  husband  !  "  said  she,  and  blushed  for  shame  at 
being  detected  in  a  falsehood,  in  presence  of  her  servants. 
But,  O  wonder  upon  wonder!  the  corpus  delicti  was  in  very 
deed  transformed  into  the  fairest  blooming  roses ;  the  rolls 
had  changed  to  white  roses,  the  sausages  to  red,  the  omelets 
to  yellow  ones  !  With  joyful  amazement  the  saintly  dame 
observed  this  metamorphosis,  and  knew  not  whether  to  be- 
lieve her  eyes  ;  for  she  had  never  given  credit  to  her  Guar- 
dian Angel  for  such  delicate  politeness  as  to  work  a  miracle 
in  favor  of  a  lady,  when  the  point  was  to  cajole  a  rigorous 
husband,  and  make  good  a  female  affirmation. 

So  visible  a  proof  of  innocence  allayed  the  fierceness  of 
the  Lion.  He  now  turned  his  tremendous  looks  on  the 
down-stricken  serving-men,  who,  as  it  was  apparent,  had 
been  groundlessly  calumniating  his  angelic  wife ;  he 
scornfully  rated  them,  and  swore  a  deep  oath,  that  the 
first  eaves-dropping  pickthank  who  again  accused  his 
virtuous  wife  to  him,  he  would  cast  into  the  dungeon, 
and  there  let  him  lie  and  rot.  This  done,  he  took  a 
rose  from  the  basket,  and  stuck  it  in  his  hat,  in  triumph  for 
his  lady's  innocence.  History  has  not  certified  us,  whether, 
on  the  following  day,  he  found  a  withered  rose  or  a  cold 
sausage  there  ;  in  the  meantime  it  assures  us  that  the 
saintly  wife,  when  her  lord  had  left  her  with  the  kiss  of 
peace,  and  she  herself  had  recovered  from  her  fright,  stept 
down  the  hill,  much  comforted  in  heart,  to  the  meadow 
where  her  nurslings,  the  lame  and  blind,  the  naked  and  the 
hungry,  were  awaiting  her  to  dole  out  among  them  her  in- 
tended bounty.  For  she  well  knew  that  the  miraculous 
deception  would  again  vanish  were  she  there,  as  in  reality 
it  did  ;  for  on  opening  her  victual-magazine,  she  found  no 
roses  at  all,  but  in  their  stead  the  nutritious  crumbs,  which 
she  had  snatched  from  the  teeth  of  the  castle  bone-nolishers. 


MELECHSALA. 


147 


Though  now,  by  the  departure  of  her  husband,  she  was 
to  be  freed  from  his  rigorous  superintendence,  and  obtain 
free  scope  to  execute  her  labors  of  love  in  secret  or  openly, 
when  and  where  it  pleased  her,  yet  she  loved  her  imperious 
husband  so  faithfully  and  sincerely,  that  she  could  not  part 
from  him  without  the  deepest  sorrow.  Ah  !  she  foreboded 
but  too  well,  that  in  this  world  she  should  not  see  him  any 
more.  And  for  the  enjoyment  of  him  in  the  other  the 
aspect  of  affairs  was  little  better.  A  canonized  Saint  has 
such  preferment  there,  that  all  other  Saints  compared  with 
her  are  but  a  heavenly  mob. 

High  as  the  Landgraf  had  been  stationed  in  this  sublunary 
world,  it  was  a  question,  whether,  in  the  courts  of  Heaven, 
he  might  be  found  worthy  to  kneel  on  the  footstool  of  her 
throne,  and  raise  his  eyes  to  his  former  bed-mate.  Yet, 
many  vows  as  she  made,  many  good  works  as  she  did, 
much  as  her  prayers  in  other  cases  had  availed  with  all 
the  Saints,  her  credit  in  the  upper  world  was  not  sufficient 
to  stretch  out  her  husband's  term  a  span.  He  died  on  this 
march,  in  the  bloom  of  life,  of  a  malignant  fever,  at  Otranto, 
before  he  had  acquired  the  knightly  merit  of  chining  a  single 
Saracen.  While  he  was  preparing  for  departure,  and  the 
time  was  come  for  him  to  give  the  world  his  blessing,  he 
called  Count  Ernst  from  among  his  other  servants  and 
vassals  to  his  bed-side  ;  appointed  him  commander  of  the 
troops  which  he  himself  had  led  thus  far,  and  made  him 
swear  that  he  would  not  return,  till  he  had  thrice  drawn  his 
sword  against  the  Infidel.  Then  he  took  the  holy  viaticum 
from  the  hands  of  his  marching  chaplain  ;  and  ordering  as 
many  masses  for  his  soul,  as  might  have  brought  himself  and 
all  his  followers  triumphantly  into  the  New  Jerusalem,  he 
breathed  his  last.  Count  Ernst  had  the  corpse  of  his  lord 
embalmed ;  he  enclosed  it  in  a  silver  coffin,  and  sent  it  to 
the  widowed  lady,  who  wore  mourning  for  her  husband  like 


148 


MUSAEUS. 


a  Roman  Empress,  for  she  never  laid  her  weeds  aside  while 
she  continued  in  this  world. 

Count  Ernst  of  Gleichen  forwarded  the  pilgrimage  as 
much  as  possible,  and  arrived  in  safety  with  his  people  in 
the  camp  at  Ptolemais.  Here  it  was  rather  a  theatrical 
emblem  of  war  than  a  serious  campaign  that  met  his  view. 
For  as  on  our  stages,  when  they  represent  a  camp  or  field 
of  battle,  there  are  merely  a  few  tents  erected  in  the  fore- 
ground, and  a  little  handful  of  players  scuffling  together ; 
but  in  the  distance  many  painted  tents  and  squadrons  to 
asgist  the  illusion,  and  cheat  the  eye,  the  whole  being 
merely  intended  for  an  artificial  deception  of  the  senses ;  so 
also  was  the  crusading  army  a  mixture  of  fiction  and  reality. 
Of  the  numerous  heroic  hosts  that  left  their  native  country, 
it  was  always  the  smallest  part  that  reached  the  boundaries 
of  the  land  they  had  gone  forth  to  conquer.  But  few  were 
devoured  by  the  swords  of  the  Saracens.  These  Infidels 
had  powerful  allies,  whom  they  sent  beyond  their  frontiers, 
and  who  made  brisk  work  among  their  enemies,  though 
getting  neither  wages  nor  thanks  for  their  good  service. 
These  allies  were  Hunger  and  Nakedness,  Perils  by  land 
and  water  and  among  bad  brethren,  Frost  and  Heat,  Pesti- 
lence and  malignant  Boils;  and  the  grinding  Home-sickness 
also  fell  at  times  like  a  heavy  Incubus  upon  the  steel  harness, 
and  crushed  it  together  like  soft  pasteboard,  and  spurred  the 
steed  to  a  quick  return.  Under  these  circumstances,  Count 
Ernst  had  little  hope  of  speedily  fulfilling  his  oath,  and 
thrice  dyeing  his  knightly  sword  in  unbelieving  blood,  as 
must  be  done  before  he  thought  of  returning.  For  three 
days'  journey  round  the  camp,  no  Arab  archer  was  to  be 
seen  ;  the  weakness  of  the  Christian  host  lay  concealed 
behind  its  bulwarks  and  entrenchments ;  they  did  not  ven- 
ture out  to  seek  the  distant  enemy,  but  waited  for  the  slow 
help  of  his  slumbering  Holiness,  who,  since  the   wakeful 


MELECHSALA. 


149 


night  that  gave  rise  to  this  Crusade,  had  enjoyed  unbroken 
sleep,  and  about  the  issue  of  the  Holy  War  had  troubled 
himself  very  little. 

In  this  inaction,  as  inglorious  to  the  Christian  army,  as 
of  old  that  loitering  was  to  the  Greeks  before  the  walls  of 
bloody  but  courageous  Troy,  where  the  godlike  Achilles, 
with  his  confederates,  moped  so  long  about  his  fair  Briseis, 
—  the  chivalry  of  Christendom  kept  up  much  jollity  and 
recreation  in  their  camp,  to  kill  lazy  time,  and  scare  away 
the  blue  devils;  the  Italians,  with  song  and  harping,  to 
which  the  nimble-footed  Frenchmen  danced  ;  the  solemn 
Spaniards  with  chess ;  the  English  with  cock-fighting ;  the 
Germans  with  feasting  and  wassail. 

Count  Ernst,  taking  small  delight  in  any  of  these  pastimes, 
amused   himself  with   hunting  ;    made  war  on  the  foxes  in 
the  dry  wildernesses,  and  pursued  the  shy  chamois  into  the 
barren   mountains.     The   knights  of  his  train  "  disagreed  n 
with  the   glowing  sun   by  day,  and   the   damp   evening  air 
under  the  open  sky,  and  sneaked  to  a  side  when  their  lord 
called  for  his  horses  ;  therefore,  in  his  hunting   expeditions, 
he    was    generally   attended    only    by    his   faithful    Squire 
named  the  mettled   Kurt,  and  a  single  groom.     Once    his 
eagerness  in  clambering  after  the  chamois   had  carried  him 
to  such  a  distance,  that  the  sun  was  dipping  in  the  Mid-sea 
wave  before  he  thought  of  returning ;  and,  fast  as  he  hast- 
ened homewards,  night  came   upon  him  at  a  distance  from 
the    camp.      The    appearance   of  some    treacherous  ignes 
fatui,  which  he  mistook  for  the  watchfires,  led  him  off  still 
farther.     On   discovering  his  error,  he  resolved  to  rest  be- 
neath a  tree  till  daybreak.     The   trusty  Squire   prepared  a 
bed  of  soft   moss  for  his  lord,  who,  wearied  by  the  heat  of 
the  day,  fell   asleep  before   he  could  lift  his  hand  to  bless 
himself,  according  to  custom,  with  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
But  to  the  mettled  Kurt  there  came  no  wink  of  sleep,  for 
13* 


150  MUSAEUS. 

he  was  by  nature  watchful  like  a  bird  of  darkness  ;  and 
though  this  gift  had  not  belonged  to  him,  his  faithful  care 
for  his  lord  would  have  kept  him  waking.  The  night,  as 
usual  in  the  climate  of  Asia,  was  serene  and  still  ;  the  stars 
twinkled  in  pure  diamond  light ;  and  solemn  silence,  as  in 
the  Valley  of  Death,  reigned  over  the  wide  desert.  No 
breath  of  air  was  stirring,  yet  the  nocturnal  coolness  poured 
life  and  refreshment  over  herb  and  living  thing.  But  about 
the  third  watch,  when  the  morning  star  had  begun  to  an- 
nounce the  coming  day,  there  arose  a  din  in  the  dusky 
remoteness,  like  the  voice  of  a  forest  stream  rushing  over 
some  steep  precipice.  The  watchful  squire  listened  eagerly, 
and  sent  his  other  senses  also  out  for  tidings,  as  his  sharp 
eye  could  not  pierce  the  veil  of  darkness.  He  hearkened 
and  snuffed  at  the  same  time,  like  a  bloodhound,  for  a  scent 
came  towards  him  as  of  sweet-smelling  herbs  and  trodden 
grass,  and  the  strange  noise  appeared  to  be  approaching. 
He  laid  his  ear  to  the  ground,  and  heard  a  trampling  as  of 
horses'  hoofs,  which  led  him  to  conclude  that  the  Infernal 
Chase  was  hunting  in  these  parts.  A  cold  shudder  passed 
over  him,  and  his  terror  grew  extreme.  He  shook  his  mas- 
ter from  sleep  ;  and  the  latter,  having  roused  himself,  soon 
saw  that  here  another  than  a  spectral  host  was  to  be  fronted. 
Whilst  his  groom  girded  up  the  horses,  the  Count  had  his 
harness  buckled  on  in  all  haste. 

The  dim  shadows  gradually  withdrew,  and  the  advancing 
morning  tinted  the  eastern  hem  of  the  horizon  with  purple 
light.  The  Count  now  discovered,  what  he  had  anticipated, 
a  host  of  Saracens  approaching,  all  equipped  for  fight,  to 
snatch  some  booty  from  the  Christians.  To  escape  their 
hands  was  hopeless,  and  the  hospitable  tree,  in  the  wide, 
solitary  plain,  gave  no  shelter  to  conceal  horse  and  man  be- 
hind it.  Unluckily,  the  massy  steed  was  not  a  Hippogriff, 
hut  a   heavy. bodied  Frieslander,  to   which,  by  reason  of  its 


MELECHSALA. 


151 


make,  the  happy  talent  of  bearing  off  its  master  on  the 
wings  of  the  wind  had  not  been  allotted ;  therefore  the 
gallant  hero  gave  his  soul  to  the  keeping  of  God  and  the 
Holy  Virgin,  and  resolved  on  dying  like  a  knight.  He  bade 
his  servants  follow  him,  and  sell  their  lives  as  dear  as  might 
be.  Thereupon  he  pricked  the  Frieslander  boldly  forward, 
and  dashed  right  into  the  middle  of  the  hostile  squadron, 
who  had  been  expecting  no  such  sudden  onset  from  a  single 
knight.  The  Pagans  started  in  astonishment,  and  flew 
asunder  like  light  chaff  when  scattered  by  the  wind.  But 
seeing  that  the  enemy  was  only  three  men  strong,  their 
courage  rose,  and  there  began  an  unequal  battle,  in  which 
valor  was  surpassed  by  number.  The  Count,  meanwhile, 
kept  plunging  yarely  through  the  ranks  ;  the  point  of  his 
lance  gleamed  death  and  destruction  to  the  Infidel  ;  and 
when  it  found  its  man,  he  flew  inevitably  from  his  saddle. 
Their  Captain  himself,  who  ran  at  him  with  grim  fury,  his 
manly  arm  laid  low,  and  with  his  victorious  spear  transfixed 
him  writhing  in  the  dust,  as  St.  George  of  England  did  the 
dragon.  The  mettled  Kurt  went  on  with  no  less  briskness ; 
though  availing  little  for  attack,  he  was  a  master  in  the 
science  of  despatching,  and  sent  all  to  pot  who  did  not  make 
resistance  ;  as  a  modern  critic  butchers  the  defenceless 
rabble  of  the  lame  and  halt,  who  venture  with  such  courage 
in  our  days  into  the  literary  tilt-yard  ;  and  if  now  and  then 
some  fainting  invalid,  with  furious  aim,  like  an  exasperated 
Reviewer-hunter,  did  hurl  a  stone  at  him  with  enfeebled  fist, 
he  heeded  it  little  ;  for  he  knew  well  that  his  basenet  and 
iron  jack  would  turn  a  moderate  thump.  The  groom,  too, 
did  his  best  to  make  clear  ground  about  him,  and  kept  his 
master's  back  unharmed.  But  as  nine  gad-flies  will  beat 
the  strongest  horse  ;  four  Caffre  bulls  an  African  lion;  and, 
by  the  common  tale,  one  troop  of  mice  an  archbishop,  as 
the  Mausethurm   or  Mouse-tower,  on  the  Rhine,   by  Hub- 


152  MUSAEUS. 

ner's  account,  gives  open  testimony  ;  so  the  Count  of  Glei- 
chen,  after  doing  knightly  battle,  was  at  length  overpowered 
by  the  number  of  his  enemies.  His  arm  grew  weary, 
his  lance  was  shivered  into  splinters,  his  sword  became 
blunt,  and  his  Friesland  horse  at  last  staggered  down 
upon  the  gory  battle-field.  The  Knight's  fall  was  the 
watch-word  of  victory;  a  hundred  valiant  arms  stormed 
in  on  him  to  wrench  away  his  sword,  and  his  hand  had 
no  longer  any  strength  for  resistance.  As  the  mettled 
Kurt  observed  the  Knight  come  down,  his  own  courage  sank 
also,  and  along  with  it  the  poleaxe,  wherewith  he  had  so 
magnanimously  hammered  in  the  Saracenic  skulls.  He 
surrendered  at  discretion,  and  pressingly  entreated  quarter. 
The  groom  stood  in  blank  rumination  ;  bore  himself  endur- 
ingly  ;  and  awaited  with  ox-like  equanimity  the  stroke  of  some 
mace  upon  his  basenet,  which  should  crush  him  to  the  ground. 
But  the  Saracens  were  less  inhuman  victors  than  the  con- 
quered could  have  expected  ;  they  disarmed  their  three 
prisoners  of  war,  and  did  them  no  bodily  harm  whatever. 
This  mild  usage  took  its  rise  not  in  any  movement  of  phi- 
lanthropy, but  in  mere  spy's-mercy  ;  from  a  dead  enemy 
there  is  nothing  to  be  learnt,  and  the  special  object  of  this 
roaming  troop  had  been  to  get  correct  intelligence  about 
the  state  of  matters  in  the  Christian  host  at  Ptolemais.  The 
captives,  being  questioned  and  heard,  were  next,  according 
to  the  Asiatic  fashion,  furnished  with  slave-fetters ;  and  as  a 
ship  was  just  then  lying  ready  to  set  sail  for  Alexandria,  the 
Bey  of  Asdod  sent  them  off  with  it  as  a  present  to  the  Sultan 
of  Egypt,  to  confirm  at  Court  their  description  of  the  Chris- 
tian resources  and  position.  The  rumor  of  the  bold  Frank's 
valor  had  arrived  before  him  at  the  gates  of  Grand  Cairo  ; 
and  so  pugnacious  a  prisoner  might,  on  entering  the  hostile 
metropolis,  have  merited  as  pompous  a  reception  as  the 
Twelfth  of  April  saw  bestowed  upon  the  Comte  de  Grasse 


MELECHSALA.  153 

in  London,  where  the  merry  capital  emulously  strove  to  let 
the  conquered  sea-hero  feel  the  honor  which  their  victory 
had  done  him  ;  but  Moslem  self-conceit  allows  no  justice 
to  foreign  merit.  Count  Ernst,  in  the  garb  of  a  felon, 
loaded  with  heavy  chains,  was  quietly  locked  into  the 
Grated  Tower,  where  the  Sultan's  slaves  were  wont  to  be 
kept. 

Here,  in  long,  painful  nights,  and  mournful,  solitary  days, 
he  had  time  and  leisure  to  survey  the  grim,  stony  aspect  of 
his  future  life  ;  and  it  required  as  much  steadfastness  and 
courage  to  bear  up  under  these  contemplations,  as  to  tilt  it 
on  the  battle-field  among  a  wandering  horde  of  Arabs.  The 
image  of  his  former  domestic  happiness  kept  hovering  be- 
fore his  eyes  ;  he  thought  of  his  gentle  wife,  and  the  tender 
shoots  of  their  chaste  love.  Ah  !  how  he  cursed  the  misera- 
ble feud  of  Mother-church  with  the  Gog  and  Magog  of  the 
East,  which  had  robbed  him  of  his  fair  lot  in.  existence, 
and  fettered  him  in  slave-shackles  never  to  be  loosed  !  In 
such  moments  he  was  ready  to  despair  altogether  ;  and 
his  piety  had  well  nigh  made  shipwreck  on  this  rock  of 
offence. 

In  the  days  of  Count  Ernst  there  was  current,  among 
anecdotic  persons,  a  wondrous  story  of  Duke  Henry  the 
Lion,  which,  at  that  ^period,  as  a  thing  that  had  occurred 
within  the  memory  of  man,  found  great  credence  in  the 
German  Empire.  The  Duke,  so  runs  the  tale,  while  pro- 
ceeding over  sea  to  the  Holy  Land,  was,  in  a  tempest,  cast 
away  upon  a  desert  part  of  the  African  coast ;  where, 
escaping  alone  from  shipwreck,  he  found  shelter  and  suc- 
cor in  the  den  of  a  hospitable  Lion.  This  kindness  in  the 
savage  owner  of  the  cave  had  its  origin  not  in  the  heart, 
but  in  the  left  hind  paw  ;  while  hunting  in  the  Lybian  wilder- 
ness, he  had  run  a  thorn  into  his  foot,  which  so  tormented 
him  that  he  could  hardly  move,  and  had  entirely  forgotten 


154  MUSAEUS. 

his  natural  voracity.  The  acquaintance  being  formed,  and 
mutual  confidence  established  between  the  parties,  the  Duke 
assumed  the  office  of  chirurgeon  to  the  royal  beast,  and 
laboriously  picked  out  the  thorn  from  his  foot.  The  patient 
rapidly  recovered,  and,  mindful  of  the  service,  entertained 
his  lodger  with  his  best  from  the  produce  of  his  plunder ; 
and,  though  a  Lion,  was  as  friendly  and  officious  towards 
him  as  a  lapdog. 

The  Duke,  however,  soon  grew  weary  of  the  cold  colla- 
tions of  his  four-footed  landlord,  and  began  to  long  for  the 
flesh-pots  of  his  own  far-distant  kitchen  ;  for  in  readying 
the  game  handed  into  him,  he.  by  no  means  rivalled  his 
Brunswick  cook.  Then  the  home-sickness  came  upon  him 
like  a  heavy  load  ;  and  seeing  no  possibility  of  ever  getting 
back  to  his  paternal  heritage,  the  thought  of  this  so  grieved 
his  soul,  that  he  wasted  visibly,  and  pined  like  a  wounded 
hart.  Thereupon  the  Tempter,  with  his  wonted  impudence 
in  desert  places,  came  before  him,  in  the  figure  of  a  little, 
swart,  wrinkled  mannikin,  whom  the  Duke  at  first  sight  took 
for  an  ourang-outang  ;  but  it  was  the  Devil  himself,  Satan 
in  proper  person,  and  he  grinned,  and  said  :  "  Duke  Henry, 
what  ails  thee  ?  If  thou  trust  to  me,  I  will  put  an  end  to  all 
thy  sorrow,  and  take  thee  home  to  thy  wife  to  sup  with  her 
this  night  in  the  Castle  of  Brunswick  ;  for  a  lordly  supper  is 
making  ready  there,  seeing  she  is  about  to  wed  another 
man,  having  lost  hope  of  thy  life.'" 

This  despatch  came  rolling  like  a  thunder-clap  into  the 
Duke's  ear,  and  cut  him  through  the  heart  like  a  sharp  two- 
edged  sword.  Rage  burnt  in  his  eyes  like  flames  of  fire, 
and  desperation  uproared  in  his  breast.  If  Heaven  will  not 
help  me  in  this  crisis,  thought  he,  then  let  Hell !  It  was 
one  of  those  entangling  situations  which  the  Arch-crimp, 
with  his  consummate  skill  in  psychological  science,  can 
employ  so  dexterously,  when  the  enlisting  of  a  soul  that  he 


MELECHSALA.  155 

has  cast  an  eye  on  is  to  prosper  in  his  hands.  The  Duke, 
without  hesitation,  buckled  on  his  golden  spurs,  girded  his 
sword  about  his  loins,  and  put  himself  in  readiness.  "  Quick, 
my  good  fellow  !  "  said  he  ;  "  carry  me,  and  this  my  trusty 
Lion,  to  Brunswick,  before  the  varlet  reach  my  bed  !  "  — 
"  Well  !"  answered  Blackbeard,  "but  dost  thou  know  the 
carriage-dues?" — "Ask  what  thou  wilt!"  said  Duke 
Henry;  "  it  shall  be  given  thee  at  thy  word." —  "  Thy  soul 
at  sight  in  the  other  world,"  replied  Beelzebub.  —  "  Done  ! 
Be  it  so ! "  cried  furious  jealousy,  from  Henry's  mouth. 

The  bargain  was  forthwith  concluded  in  legal  form,  be- 
tween the  two  contracting  parties.  The  Infernal  Kite 
directly  changed  himself  into  a  winged  Griffin,  and  seizing 
the  Duke  in  the  one  clutch,  and  the  trusty  Lion  in  the  other, 
conveyed  them  both  in  one  night  from  the  Lybian  coast  to 
Brunswick,  the  towering  city,  founded  on  the  lasting  basis 
of  the  Harz,  which  even  the  lying  prophecies  of  the  Ziller- 
feld  vaticinator  have  not  ventured  to  overthrow.  There  he 
set  down  his  burden  safely  in  the  middle  of  the  market- 
place, and  vanished,  just  as  the  watchman  was  blowing  his 
horn  with  intent  to  proclaim  the  hour  of  midnight,  and  then 
carol  forth  a  superannuated  bridal-song  from  his  rusty  mum- 
washed  weazand.  The  ducal  palace,  and  the  whole  city, 
still  gleamed  like  the  starry  heaven  with  the  nuptial  illumi- 
nation ;  every  street  resounded  with  the  din  and  tumult  of 
the  gay  people  streaming  forward  to  gaze  on  the  decorated 
bride,  and  the  solemn  torch-dance  with  which  the  festival 
was  to  conclude.  The  Aeronaut,  unwearied  by  his  voyage, 
pressed  on  amid  the  crowding  multitude  through  the  en- 
trance of  the  Palace  ;  advanced  with  clanking  spurs,  under  the 
guidance  of  his  trusty  Lion,  to  the  banquet-chamber  ;  drew 
his  sword,  and  cried,  "  With  me,  whoever  stands  by  Duke 
Henry  ;  and  to  traitors,  death  and  hell !  "  The  Lion  also 
bellowed,  as  if  seven  thunders  had  been  uttering  their  uni- 


156  MUSAEUS. 

ted  voices  ;  shook  his  awful  mane,  and  furiously  erected  his 
tail,  as  the  signal  of  attack.  The  cornets  and  kettle-drums 
struck  silent  suddenly,  and  a  horrid  sound  of  battle  pealed 
from  the  tumult  in  the  wedding-hall,  up  to  the  very  Gothic 
roof,  till  the  walls  rang  with  it,  and  the  thresholds  shook. 

The  golden-haired  bridegroom,  and  his  party-colored  but- 
terflies of  courtiers,  fell  beneath  the  sword  of  the  Duke,  as 
the  thousand  Philistines  beneath  the  ass's  jaw-bone,  in  the 
sturdy  fist  of  the  son  of  Manoah  ;  and  he  who  escaped  the 
sword  rushed  into  the  Lion's  throat,  and  was  butchered  like 
a  defenceless  lamb.  When  the  forward  wooer  and  his  re- 
tinue of  serving-men  and  nobles  were  abolished,  Duke 
Henry  having  used  his  household  privilege  as  sternly  as  of 
old  the  wise  Ulysses  to  the  wooing-club  of  his  chaste  Pe- 
nelope, sat  down  to  table,  refreshed  in  spirit,  beside  his  wife, 
who  was  just  beginning  to  recover  from  the  deadly  fright 
his  entrance  had  caused  her.  While  briskly  enjoying  the 
dainties  of  his  cook,  which  had  not  been  prepared  for  him, 
he  cast  a  glance  of  triumph  on  his  new  conquest,  and  per- 
ceived that  she  was  bathed  in  ambiguous  tears,  which  might 
as  well  refer  to  loss  as  to  gain.  However,  like  a  man  that 
knew  the  world,  he  explained  them  wholly  to  his  own  ad- 
vantage ;  and  merely  reproving  her  in  gentle  words  for  the 
hurry  of  her  heart,  he  from  that  hour  entered  upon  all  his 
former  rights. 

Count  Ernst  had  often  listened  to  this  strange  story,  from 
the  lips  of  his  nurse  ;  yet  in  riper  years,  as  an  enlightened 
skeptic,  entertained  doubts  of  its  truth.  But  in  the  dreary 
loneliness  of  his  Grated  Tower,  the  whole  incident  acquired 
a  form  of  possibility,  and  his  wavering  nursery  belief  in- 
creased almost  to  conviction.  A  transit  through  the  air  ap- 
peared to  him  the  simplest  thing  in  nature,  if  the  Prince  of 
Darkness,  in  the  gloomy  midnight,  chose  to  lend  his  bat- 
wings  for  the  purpose.     Though  in  obedience  to  his  relig- 


MELECHSALA.  157 

ious  principles,  he  no  night  neglected  to  cut  a  large  cross 
before  him  as  he  went  to  sleep,  yet  a   secret  longing  awoke 
in  his  heart,   without  its  own  distinct  consciousness,  to  ac- 
complish  the  same  adventure.     If  a   wandering   mouse   in 
the  night  season  happened  to   scratch    upon  the  wainscot,  he 
immediately  supposed  the  Hellish   Proteus   was  announcing 
his  arrival,  and  at  times  in  thought  he  went  so  far  as  settling 
the  freight  charges  beforehand.     But  except  the  illusion  of 
a  dream,   which  juggled   him   into  an   areial  journey  to  his 
German  native  land,  the   Count  gained    nothing  by  his  nur- 
sery faith,  except  employing  with  these  fantasies   a  few  va- 
cant hours  ;  and  like  a   reader  of  novels,  transporting   him- 
self into  the  situation  of  the   acting   hero.     Why  old  Abad- 
don showed  himself  so  sluggish  in  this   case,  when   the  kid- 
napping of  a  soul  was  in  the  wind,  and   in  all  likelihood  the 
enterprise  must   have  succeeded,  may  be   accounted  for  in 
two  ways.     Either  the  Count's  Guardian   Angel    was   more 
watchful  than  the  one  to  whom   Duke    Henry  had  intrusted 
the  keeping  of  his  soul,  and  resisted  so  stoutly  that  the  Evil 
One  could  get  no  advantage  over  him  ;  or  the  Prince  of  the 
Air  had  grown  disgusted  with  the   transport-trade   in  this  his 
own  element,  having  been   bubbled    out   of    his  stipulated 
freightage  by  Duke  Henry  after  all   their  engagements  ;  for 
when  it  came  to  the  point  with  Henry,  his  soul  was  found  to 
have  so  many  good  works  on  her   side  of  the   account,  that 
the  scores  on  the  Infernal  tally  were  altogether  cancelled  by 
them. 

Whilst  Count  Ernst  was  weaving  in  romantic  dreams  a 
feeble  shadow  of  hope  for  deliverance  from  his  captivity, 
and  for  a  few  moments  in  the  midst  of  them  forgetting  his 
dejection  and  misery,  his  returning  servants  brought  the 
Countess  tidings  that  their  master  had  vanished  from  the 
camp,  and  none  knew  what  had  become  of  him.  Some 
supp6sed  that  he  had  been  the  prey  of  snakes  or  dragons ; 
vol.  i.  14 


158  MUSAEUS. 

others  that  a  pestilential  blast  of  wind  had  met  him  in  the 
Syrian  desert,  and  killed  him;  others  that  he  had  been 
robbed  and  murdered,  or  taken  captive,  by  some  plundering 
troop  of  Arabs.  In  one  point  all  agreed.  That  he  was  to 
be  held  pro  mortuo,  dead  in  law,  and  that  the  Countess  was 
entirely  relieved  and  enfranchised  from  her  matrimonial 
engagements.  But  to  the  Countess  herself  a  secret  fore- 
boding still  whispered  that  her  lord  was  alive  notwithstand- 
ing. Nor  did  she  by  any  means  repress  this  thought,  which 
so  solaced  her  heart ;  for  hope  is  always  the  stoutest  stay  of 
the  afflicted,  and  the  sweetest  dream  of  life.  To  maintain 
it,  she  secretly  equipped  a  trusty  servant,  and  sent  him  out 
for  tidings,  over  sea  into  the  Holy  Land.  Like  the  raven 
from  the  Ark,  this  scout  flew  to  and  fro  upon  the  waters, 
and  was  no  more  heard  of.  Then  she  sent  another  forth  ; 
who  returned  after  several  years  cruising  over  sea  and  land  ; 
but  no  olive  leaf  of  hope  was  in  his  bill.  Nevertheless  the 
steadfast  lady  doubted  not  in  the  least  that  she  should  yet 
meet  her  lord  in  the  land  of  the  living;  for  she  had  a  firm 
persuasion  that  so  tender  and  true  a  husband  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  left  the  world,  without  in  the  catastrophe  remem- 
bering his  wife  and  little  children  at  home,  and  giving  them 
some  token  of  his  death.  Now,  since  the  Count's  departure, 
there  had  nothing  happened  in  the  Castle  ;  neither  in  the 
armory  by  rattling  of  the  harness,  nor  in  the  garret  by  a 
rolling  joist,  nor  in  the  bed-chamber  by  a  faint  footstep,  or 
heavy-booted  tread.  Nor  had  any  nightly  moaning  chanted 
its  Ncenia  down  from  the  high  battlements  of  the  palace  ; 
nor  had  the  baleful  bird  Kreidevveiss  ever  issued  its  lugubri- 
ous death-summons.  In  the  absence  of  all  these  signs  of 
evil  omen,  she  inferred,  by  the  principles  of  female  common- 
sense  philosophy,  which  even  in  our  own  times  are  by  no 
means  fallen  into  such  desuetude  among  the  fair  sex,  as 
Father  Aristotle's    Organum  is  among  the  male,  that  her 


MELECHSALA. 


159 


much- loved  husband  was  still  living  ;  a  conclusion  which 
we  know  was  perfectly  correct.  The  fruitless  issue  of  her 
first  two  missions  of  discover}',  the  object  of  which  was 
more  important  to  her  than  the  finding  of  the  Southern 
Polar  Continent  is  to  us,  she  allowed  not  in  the  least  to  deter 
her  from  sending  out  a  third  Apostle  into  All  the  World. 
This  third  was  of  a  slow  turn,  and  had  imprinted  on  his 
mind  the  adage,  As  soon  gets  the  snail  to  his  bed  as  the 
swallow  ;  therefore  he  called  at  every  inn,  and  treated  him- 
self well.  And  it  being  infinitely  more  convenient  that  the 
people  whom  he  was  to  question  about  his  master  should 
come  to  him,  than  that  he  should  go  tracking  and  spying 
them  out  in  the  wide  world,  he  determined  on  choosing  a 
position  where  he  could  examine  every  passenger  from  the 
East,  with  the  insolent  inquisitiveness  of  a  toll-man  behind 
his  barrier  ;  and  fixed  his  quarters  by  the  harbor  of  Venice. 
This  Queen  of  the  Waters  was  at  that  time,  as  it  were,  the 
general  gate,  which  all  pilgrims  and  crusaders  from  the  Holy 
Land  passed  through  in  their  way  home.  Whether  this 
shrewd  genius  chose  the  best  or  the  worst  means  for  dis- 
charging his  appointed  function  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

After  a  seven  years'  narrow  custody  in  the  Grated  Tower 
at  Grand  Cairo;  a  term  which  to  the  Count  seemed  far 
longer  than  to  the  Seven  Sleepers  their  seventy  years'  sleep 
in  the  Roman  catacombs,  he  concluded  himself  to  be  for- 
saken of  Heaven  and  Hell,  and  utterly  gave  up  hope  of 
ever  getting  out  in  the  body  from  this  melancholy  cage, 
where  the  kind  face  of  the  sun  was  not  allowed  to  visit  him, 
and  the  broken  daylight  struggled  faintly  in  through  a  win- 
dow secured  with  iron  bars.  His  devil-romance  was  long 
ago  concluded  ;  and  his  faith  in  miraculous  assistance  from 
his  Guardian  Saint  was  lighter  than  a  mustard-seed.  He 
vegetated  rather  than  lived  ;  and  if  in  these  circumstances 
any  wish  arose  in  him,  it  was  the  wish  to  be  annihilated. 


160 


MUSAEUS. 


From  this  lethargic  stupor  he  was  suddenly  aroused  by 
the  rattling  of  a  bunch  of  keys  before  the  door  of  his  cell 
Since  the  day  of  his  entrance,  his  jailor  had  never  more 
performed  for  him  the  office  of  turnkey  ;  for  all  the  neces- 
saries of  the  prisoner  had  been  conveyed  through  a  trap-board 
in  the  door.  Accordingly,  it  was  not  without  long  resist- 
ance, and  the  bribery  of  a  little  vegetable  oil,  that  the  rusty 
bolt  obeyed  him.  But  the  creaking  of  the  iron  hinges,  as 
the  door  went  up  with  reluctant  grating,  was  to  the  Count 
a  compound  of  more  melodious  notes  than  ever  came  from 
the  harmonica  of  Franklin.  A  foreboding  palpitation  of  the 
heart  set  his  stagnant  blood  in  motion  ;  and  he  expected 
with  impatient  longing  the  intelligence  of  a  change  in  his 
fate  ;  for  the  rest,  it  was  indifferent  to  him  whether  it  brought 
life  or  death.  Two  black  slaves  entered  with  his  jailor,  at 
whose  signal  they  loosed  the  fetters  from  the  prisoner ;  and 
a  second  mute  sign  from  the  solemn  graybeard  commanded 
him  to  follow.  He  obeyed  with  faltering  steps ;  his  feet 
refused  their  service,  and  he  needed  the  support  of  the 
two  slaves,  to  totter  down  the  winding  stone  stair.  He  was 
then  conducted  to  the  Captain  of  the  Prison,  who,  looking 
at  him  with  a  reproachful  air,  thus  spoke  :  "Obstinate  Frank, 
what  made  thee  hide  the  craft  thou  art  acquainted  with, 
when  thou  wert  put  into  the  grated  Tower  ?  One  of  thy 
fellow-prisoners  has  betrayed  thee,  and  informed  us  that 
thou  art  a  master  in  the  art  of  gardening.  Go,  whither  the 
will  of  the  Sultan  calls  thee ;  lay  out  a  garden  in  the  man- 
ner of  the  Franks,  and  watch  over  it  like  the  apple  of  thy 
eye  ;  that  the  Flower  of  the  World  may  blossom  in  it  pleas- 
antly, for  the  adorning  of  the  East." 

If  the  Count  had  got  a  call  to  Paris  to  be  Rector  of  the 
Sorbonne,  the  appointment  could  not  have  astonished  him 
more,  than  this  of  being  gardener  to  the  Sultan  of  Egypt. 
About  gardening  he  understood  as  little  as  a  laic  about  the 


MELECHSALA. 


161 


secrets  of  the  Church  In  Italy,  it  is  true,  he  had  seen 
many  gardens ;  and  at  Nurnberg,  where  the  dawn  of  that 
art  was  now  first  penetrating  into  Germany ;  though  the 
horticultural  luxury  of  the  Niirnbergers  did  not  yet  extend 
much  farther  than  a  bowling-green,  and  a  few  beds  of  Ro- 
man lettuce.  But  about  the  planning  of  gardens,  and  the 
cultivation  of  plants,  like  a  martial  nobleman,  he  had  never 
troubled  his  head  ;  and  his  botanic  science  was  so  limited, 
that  the  Flower  of  the  World  had  never  once  come  under 
his  inspection.  Hence  he  knew  not  in  the  least  by  what 
method  it  was  to  be  treated  ;  whether  like  the  aloe  it  must 
be  brought  to  blossom  by  the  aid  of  art,  or  like  a  common 
marigold  by  the  genial  virtue  of  nature  alone.  Neverthe- 
less, he  did  not  venture  to  acknowledge  his  ignorance,  or 
decline  the  preferment  offered  him  ;  being  reasonably  ap- 
prehensive that  they  might  convince  him  of  his  fitness  for 
the  post,  by  a  bastinading  on  the  soles. 

A  pleasant  park  was  assigned  him,  which  he  was  to 
change  into  a  European  garden.  The  spot  had,  either  by 
the  hand  of  bountiful  Nature,  or  of  ancient  cultivation,  been 
so  happily  disposed  and  ornamented  already,  that  the  new 
Abdalonymus,  let  him  cudgel  his  brains  as  he  would,  could 
perceive  no  error  or  defect  in  it,  nothing  that  admitted  of 
improvement.  Besides,  the  aspect  of  living  and  active  na- 
ture, which  for  seven  long  years  in  his  dreary  prison  he 
had  been  obliged  to  forego,  affected  him  at  once  so  power- 
fully, that  he  inhaled  rapture  from  every  grass-flower,  and 
looked  at  all  things  around  him  with  delight,  like  the  First 
Man  in  Paradise,  to  whom  the  scientific  thought  of  censur- 
ing anything  in  the  arrangement  of  his  Eden  did  not  occur. 
The  Count  therefore  found  himself  in  no  small  embarrass- 
ment about  discharging  his  commission  creditably  ;  he  feared 
that  every  change  would  rob  the  garden  of  a  beauty,  and 
14* 


162  MUSAEUS. 

were  he  detected  as  a  botcher,  he  must  travel  back  into  his 
Grated  Tower. 

In   the   mean   time,  as  Sheik    Kiamel,  Overseer  of  the 
Gardens   and  favorite  of  the   Sultan,    was   diligently  stim- 
ulating him  to  begin  the   work,  he  required  fifty  slaves,  as 
necessary  for  the  execution  of  his   enterprise.     Next  morn- 
ing at  dawn  they  were  all  ready,  and  passed  muster   before 
their  new  commander,  who  as   yet  saw  not  how  he  should 
employ  a  man  of  them.     But  how  great  was  his  joy  as  he 
perceived  the  mettled  Kurt  and  the  ponderous  Groom,  his 
two  companions  of  misfortune,  ranked  among  the  troop!     A 
hundred-weight  of  lead  rolled  off  his  heart,  the  wrinkle  of 
dejection   vanished  from   his   brow,  and   his  eyes  were  en- 
lightened, as  if  he   had   dipt   his  staff  in   honey  and  tasted 
thereof.     He   led   the  trusty  Squire   aside,  and  frankly  in- 
formed him  into  what  a  heterogeneous  element  he  had  been 
cast  by  the  caprices  of  fate,  where  he  could  neither  fly  nor 
swim ;   nor  could  he  in  the  least  comprehend  what  enigmat- 
ical   mistake   had   exchanged  his   knightly   sword    with   the 
gardener's  spade.     No   sooner  had  he  done  speaking,  than 
the   mettled   Kurt,  with  wet  eyes,  fell  at  his  feet,  then  lifted 
up  his  voice  and  said  :  "Pardon,  dear  master  !     It  is  I  that 
have  caused  your  perplexity  and  your  deliverance  from  the 
rascally   Grated    Tower,  which   has   kept    you   so   long   in 
ward.     Be  not  angry  that  the   innocent   deceit  of  your  ser- 
vant  has   brought   you  out  of  it ;  be  glad  rather  that  you 
see  God's  sky  again  above  your  head.     The  Sultan  required 
a  garden  after   the  manner  of  the   Franks,  and  had  procla- 
mation made  to  all  the  Christian  captives  in  the  Bazam,  that 
the  proper  man  should  step  forth,  and   expect   great  recom- 
pense if  the  undertaking  prospered.     No  one  of  them  durst 
meddle    with    it ;    but   I    recollected    your    heavy    duranee. 
Then  some  good  spirit  whispered  me  the  lie  of  announcing 
you  as  an  adept  in  the  art  of  gardening,  and  it  has  succeeded 


MELECHSALA.  163 

perfectly.  And  now  never  vex  yourself  about  the  way  of 
managing  the  business ;  the  Sultan,  like  the  great  people  of 
the  world,  has  a  fancy  not  for  something  better  than  he  has 
already,  but  for  something  different,  that  may  be  new  and 
singular.  Therefore,  delve  and  devastate,  and  cut  and 
carve,  in  this  glorious  field,  according  to  your  pleasure  ;  and 
depend  upon  it,  everything  you  do  or  purpose  will  be  right 
in  his  eyes." 

This  speech  was  as  the  murmur  of  a  running  brook  in 
the  ears  of  a  tired  wanderer  in  the  desert.  The  Count  drew 
balsam  to  his  soul  from  it,  and  courage  to  commence  with 
boldness  the  ungainly  undertaking.  He  set  his  men  to 
work  at  random,  without  plan ;  and  proceeded  with  the 
well-ordered  shady  park,  as  one  of  your  "  bold  geniuses" 
proceeds  with  an  antiquated  author,  who  falls  into  his  crea- 
tive hands,  and,  nill  he  will  he,  must  submit  to  let  himself 
be  modernized,  that  is  to  say,  again  made  readable  and 
likeable  ;  or  as  a  new  pedagogue  with  the  ancient  forms  of 
the  Schools.  He  jumbled  in  variegated  confusion  what  he 
found  before  him,  making  all  things  different,  nothing  better. 
The  profitable  fruit-trees  he  rooted  out,  and  planted  rose- 
mary and  valerian,  and  exotic  shrubs,  or  scentless  ama- 
ranths, in  their  stead.  The  rich  soil  he  dug  away,  and 
coated  the  naked  bottom  with  many  colored  gravel,  which 
he  carefully  stamped  hard,  and  smoothed  like  a  threshing- 
floor,  that  no  blade  of  grass  might  spring  in  it.  The  whole 
space  he  divided  into  various  terraces,  which  he  begirt  with 
a  hem  of  green  ;  and  through  these  a  strangely-twisted  flow- 
er-bed serpentized  along,  and  ended  in  a  knot  of  villainous- 
ly smelling  boxwood.  And  as,  from  his  ignorance  of  botany, 
he  paid  no  heed  to  the  proper  seasons  for  sowing  and  plant- 
ing, his  garden  project  hovered  for  a  long  time  between  life 
and  death,  and  had  the  aspect  of  a  suit  of  clothes  a  feuille 
mourante. 


164  MUSAEUS. 

Sheik  Kiamel,  and  the  Sultan  himself,  allowed  the  Wes- 
tern gardener  to  take  his  course,  without  deranging  his  con- 
ception by  their  interference  or  their  dictatorial  opinion,  and 
by  premature  hypercriticism  interrupting  the  procedure  of  his 
horticultural  genius.  In  this  they  acted  more  wisely  than 
our  obstreperous  public,  which,  from  our  famous  philanthro- 
pic scheme  of  sowing  acorns,  expected  in  a  summer  or  two 
a  stock  of  strong  oaks,  fit  to  be  masts  for  three-deckers  ; 
while  the  plantation  was  as  yet  so  soft  and  feeble,  that  a  few 
frosty  nights  might  have  sent  it  to  destruction.  Now,  in- 
deed, almost  in  the  middle  of  the  second  decade  of  years 
from  the  commencement  of  the  enterprise,  when  the  first 
fruits  must  certainly  be  over-ripe,  it  were  in  good  season  for 
a  German  Kiamel  to  step  forward  with  the  question  : 
"  Planter,  what  art  thou  about  ?  Let  us  see  what  thy  del- 
ving and  the  loud  clatter  of  thy  cars  and  wheel-barrows 
have  produced  ?  "  And  if  the  plantation  stood  before  him 
like  that  of  the  Gleichic  Garden  at  Grand  Cairo,  in  the  sere 
and  yellow  leaf,  then  were  he  well  entitled,  after  due  con- 
sideration of  the  matter,  like  the  Sheik,  to  shake  his  head  in 
silence,  to  spit  a  squirt  through  his  teeth,  and  think  within 
himself:  If  this  be  all,  it  might  have  staid  as  it  was.  For 
one  day,  as  the  gardener  was  surveying  his  new  creation 
with  contentment,  sitting  in  judgment  on  himself,  and  pro- 
nouncing that  the  work  praised  the  master,  and  that,  every- 
thing considered,  it  had  fallen  out  better  than  he  could  have 
anticipated,  his  whole  ideal  being  before  his  eyes,  not  only 
what  was  then,  but  what  was  to  be  made  of  it  —  the  Over- 
seer, the  Sultan's  favorite,  stept  into  the  garden,  and  said  : 
"  Frank,  what  art  thou  about  ?  And  how  far  art  thou  got 
with  thy  labor  ?  "  The  Count  easily  perceived  that  the  pro- 
duce of  his  genius  would  now  have  to  stand  a  rigorous 
criticism  ;  however,  he  had  long  been  ready  for  this  acci- 
dent.    He  collected  all  his  presence  of  mind,  and  answered 


MELECHSA.LA.  165 

confidently  :  "  Come,  sir,  and  see  !  This  former  wilderness 
has  obeyed  the  hand  of  art,  and  is  now  moulded,  after  the 
pattern  of  Paradise,  into  a  scene  which  the  Houris  would  not 
disdain  to  select  for  their  abode."  The  Sheik,  hearing  a 
professed  artist  speak  with  such  apparent  warmth  and  satis- 
faction of  his  own  performance,  and  giving  the  master  credit 
for  deeper  insight  in  his  own  sphere  than  he  himself  possess- 
ed, restrained  the  avowal  of  his  discontentment  with  the 
whole  arrangement,  modestly  ascribing  this  dislike  to  his 
inacquaintance  with  foreign  taste,  and  leaving  the  matter  to 
rest  on  its  own  basis.  Nevertheless,  he  could  not  help  put- 
ting one  or  two  questions,  for  his  own  information  ;  to 
which  the  garden  satrap  was  not  in  the  least  behindhand 
with  his  answers. 

"  Where  are  the  glorious  fruit-trees,"  began  the  Sheik, 
"  which  stood  on  this  sandy  level,  loaded  with  peaches  and 
sweet  lemons,  which  solaced  the  eye,  and  invited  the  pro- 
menader  to  refreshing  enjoyment  ?  " 

"They  are  all  hewn  away  by  the  surface,  and  their  place 
is  no  longer  to  be  found." 

"  And  why  so  ?  " 

"  Could  the  garden  of  the  Sultan  admit  such  trash  of 
trees,  which  the  commonest  citizen  of  Cairo  cultivates,  and 
the  fruit  of  which  is  offered  for  sale  by  assloads  every 
day  ?  " 

"  What  moved  thee  to  desolate  the  pleasant  grove  of  dates 
and  tamarinds,  which  was  the  wanderer's  shelter  against  the 
sultry  noontide,  and  gave  him  coolness  and  refection  under 
the  vault  of  its  shady  boughs  ?  " 

"  What  has  shade  to  do  in  a  garden,  which,  while  the  sun 
shoots  forth  scorching  beams,  stands  solitary  and  deserted, 
and  only  exhales  its  balsamic  odors  when  fanned  by  the 
cool  breeze  of  evening  ?  " 

"  But  did  not  this  grove  cover,  with  an  impenetrable  veil, 


166  MUSAEUS. 

the  secrets  of  love,  when  the  Sultan,  enchanted  by  the 
charms  of  a  fair  Circassian,  wished  to  hide  his  tenderness 
from  the  jealous  eyes  of  her  companions  ?  " 

"  An  impenetrable  veil  is  to  be  found  in  that  bower,  over- 
arched with  honey-suckle  and  ivy  ;  or  in  that  cool  grotto, 
where  a  crystal  fountain  gushes  out  of  artificial  rocks  into  a 
basin  of  marble  ;  or  in  that  covered  walk  with  its  trellises  of 
clustering  vines  ;  or  on  the  sofa,  pillowed  with  soft  moss, 
in  the  rustic  reed-house  by  the  pond  ;  nor  will  any  of  these 
secret  shrines  afford  lodging  for  destructive  worms,  and 
buzzing  insects,  or  keep  away  the  wafting  air,  or  shut  up 
the  free  prospect,  as  the  gloomy  grove  of  tamarinds 
did." 

"  But  why  hast  thou  planted  sage,  and  hyssop  which 
grows  upon  the  wall,  here  on  this  spot,  where  formerly  the 
precious  balm-tree  of  Mecca  bloomed  ?  " 

"  Because  the  Sultan  wanted  no  Arabian,  but  a  European 
garden.  In  Italy,  and  in  the  German  gardens  of  the  Niirn- 
bergers,  no  dates  are  ripened,  nor  does  any  balm-tree  of 
Mecca  bloom." 

To  this  last  argument  no  answer  could  be  made.  As 
neither  the  Sheik  nor  any  of  the  Heathen  in  Cairo  had  ever 
been  at  Nurnberg,  he  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  take  this 
version  of  the  garden  from  Arabic  into  German,  on  the  word 
of  the  interpreter.  Only  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  think 
that  the  present  horticultural  reform  had  been  managed  by 
the  pattern  of  the  Paradise  appointed  by  the  Prophet  for 
believing  Mussulmen  ;  and,  allowing  the  pretension  to  be 
true,  he  promised  to  himself,  from  the  joys  of  the  future  life, 
no  very  special  consolation.  There  was  nothing  for  him, 
therefore,  but  in  the  way  above-mentioned,  to  shake  his 
head,  contemplatively  squirt  a  dash  of  liquid  out  over  his 
beard,  and  go  the  way  whence  he  had  come. 

The  Sultan  who  at  that  time  swayed  the  Egyptian  sceptre 


MELECHSALA.  167 

was  the  gallant  Malek  al  Aziz  Olhman,  a  son  of  the  re- 
nowned Saladin.  The  fame  of  Sultan  Malek  rests  less 
upon  his  qualities  in  the  field  or  the  cabinet,  than  upon  the 
unexampled  numerousness  of  his  offspring.  Of  princes  he  had 
so  many,  that  had  every  one  of  them  been  destined  to  wear 
a  crown,  he  might  have  stocked  with  them  all  the  kingdoms 
of  the  then  known  world.  Seventeen  years  ago,  however, 
this  copious  spring  had,  one  hot  summer,  finally  gone  dry. 
Princess  Melechsala  terminated  the  long  series  of  the  Sul- 
tanic  progeny  ;  and  in  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  Court, 
she  was  the  jewel  of  the  whole.  She  enjoyed  to  its  full 
extent  the  prerogative  of  youngest  children,  preference  to 
all  the  rest  ;  and  this  distinction  was  enhanced  by  the  cir- 
cumstance, that,  of  all  the  Sultan's  daughters,  she  alone  had 
remained  in  life ;  while  Nature  had  adorned  her  with  so 
many  charms  that  they  enchanted  even  the  paternal  eye. 
For  this  must  in  general  be  conceded  to  the  Oriental  Prin- 
ces, that,  in  the  scientific  criticism  of  female  beauty,  they  are 
infinitely  more  advanced  than  our  Occidentals,  who  are 
every  now  and  then  betraying  their  imperfect  culture  in  this 
point.*  Melechsala  was  the  pride  of  the  Sultan's  family  ; 
her  brothers  themselves  were  unremitting  in  attentions  to 
her,  and  in  efforts  to  outdo  each  other  in  affectionate  regard. 
The  grave  Divan  was  frequently  employed  in  considering 
what  Prince,  by  means  of  her,  might  be  connected,  in  the 
bonds  of  love,  with  the  interest  of  the  Egyptian  state.  This 
her  royal  father  made  his  smallest  care  ;  he  was  solely  and 
incessantly  concerned  to  grant  this  darling  of  his  heart  her 
every  wish,  to  keep  her  spirit  always  in  a  cheerful  mood, 
that  no  cloud  might  overcast  the  serene  horizon  of  her  brow. 
The  first  years  of  childhood  she  had  passed  under  the 
superintendence   of  a  nurse,  who  was  a   Christian,   and  of 

*  Journal  of  Fashions.     June,  1786. 


168  MUSAEUS. 

Italian  extraction.  This  slave  had  in  early  youth  been  kid- 
napped from  the  beach  of  her  native  town  by  a  Barbary 
pirate;  sold  in  Alexandria;  and,  by  the  course  of  trade, 
transmitted  from  one  hand  to  another,  till  at  last  she  had 
arrived  in  the  palace  of  the  Sultan,  where  her  hale  constitu- 
tion recommended  her  to  this  office,  which  she  filled  with 
the  greatest  reputation.  Though  less  tuneful  than  the 
French  court-nurse,  who  used  to  give  the  signal  for  a  gen- 
eral chorus  over  all  Versailles,  whenever  she  uplifted,  with 
melodious  throat,  her  Marlborough  s^en  va-t-en  guerre ;  yet 
nature  had  sufficiently  indemnified  her  by  a  glibness  of 
tongue,  in  which  she  was  unrivalled.  She  knew  as  many 
tales  and  stories  as  the  fair  Sheherazade  in  the  Thousand 
and  One  Nights;  a  species  of  entertainment  for  which  it 
would  appear  the  race  of  Sultans,  in  the  privacy  of  their 
seraglios,  have  considerable  liking.  The  Princess,  at  least, 
found  pleasure  in  it,  not  for  a  thousand  nights,  but  for  a 
thousand  weeks  ;  and  when  once  a  maiden  has  attained  the 
age  of  a  thousand  weeks,  she  can  no  longer  be  contented 
with  the  histories  of  others,  for  she  sees  materials  in  her- 
self to  make  a  history  of  her  own.  In  process  of  time,  the 
gifted  waiting-woman  changed  her  nursery-tales  with  the 
theory  of  European  manners  and  customs;  and  being  her- 
self a  warm  patriot,  and  recollecting  her  native  country 
with  delight,  she  painted  the  superiorities  of  Italy  so  vividly, 
that  the  fancy  of  her  tender  nursling  became  filled  with  the 
subject,  and  the  pleasant  impression  never  afterwards  faded 
from  her  memory.  The  more  this  fair  Princess  grew  in 
stature,  the  stronger  grew  in  her  the  love  for  foreign  deco- 
ration ;  and  her  whole  demeanor  shaped  itself  according  to 
the  customs  of  Europe  rather  than  of  Egypt. 

From  youth  upwards  she  had  been  a  great  lover  of  flow- 
ers ;  part  of  her  occupation  had  consisted  in  forming,  ac- 
cording to  the  manner  of  the  Arabs,  a  constant  succession 


MELECHSALA.  169 

of  significant  nosegays  and  garlands  ;  with  which,  in  delicate 
expressiveness,  she  used  to  disclose  the  emotions  of  her 
heart.  Nay,  she  at  last  grew  so  inventive,  that,  by  combin- 
ing flowers  of  various  properties,  she  could  compose,  and 
often  very  happily,  whole  sentences  and  texts  of  the  Koran. 
These  she  would  then  submit  to  her  playmates  for  interpre- 
tation, which  they  seldom  failed  to  hit.  Thus  one  day,  for 
example,  she  formed  with  Chalcedonic  Lychnis  the  figure 
of  a  heart ;  surrounded  it  with  white  Roses  and  Lilies ;  fas- 
tened under  it  two  mounting  Kingsweeds,  enclosing  a  beau- 
tifully marked  Anemone  between  them  ;  and  her  women, 
when  she  showed  them  the  wreath,  unanimously  read  :  Inno- 
cence of  heart  is  above  Birth  and  Beauty.  She  frequently 
presented  her  slaves  with  fresh  nosegays  ;  and  these  flower 
donations  commonly  included  praise  or  blame  for  their  re- 
ceivers. A  garland  of  Peony-roses  censured  levity ;  the 
swelling  Poppy,  dulness  and  vanity  ;  a  bunch  of  odoriferous 
Hyacinths,  with  drooping  bells,  was  a  panegyric  for  mod- 
esty ;  the  gold  Lily,  which  shuts  her  leaves  at  sunset,  for 
prudence  ;  the  Marine  Convolvulus  rebuked  eye-service  ;  and 
the  blossoms  of  the  Thorn-Apple,  with  the  Daisy  whose 
roots  are  poisonous,  indicated  slander  and  private  envy. 

Father  Othman  took  a  secret  pleasure  in  this  sprightly 
play  of  his  daughter's  fancy,  though  he  himself  had  no 
talent  for  deciphering  these  witty  hieroglyphics  ;  and  was 
frequently  obliged  to  look  with  the  spectacles  of  his  whole 
Divan  before  he  could  pierce  their  meaning.  The  exotic 
taste  of  the  Princess  was  not  hidden  from  him  ;  and  though, 
as  a  plain  Mussulman,  he  could  not  sympathize  with  her  in 
it,  he  endeavored,  as  a  tender  and  indulgent  parent,  rather 
to  maintain  than  to  suppress  this  favorite  tendency  of  his 
daughter.  He  fell  upon  the  project  of  combining  her  pas- 
sion for  flowers  with  her  preference  for  foreign  parts,  and 
laying  out  a  garden  for  her  in  the  taste  of  the  Franks.    This 

vol.- i.  15 


170  MUSAEUS. 

idea  appeared  to  him  so  happy,  that  he  lost  not  a  moment 
in  imparting  it  to  his  favorite,  Sheik  Kiamel,  and  pressing 
him  with  the  strictest  injunctions  to  realize  it  as  speedily  as 
possible.  The  Sheik,  well  knowing  that  his  master's  wishes 
were  for  him  commands,  which  he  must  obey  without  reply, 
presumed  not  to  mention  the  difficulties  which  he  saw  in  the 
attempt.  He  himself  understood  as  little  about  European 
gardens  as  the  Sultan ;  and  in  all  Cairo  there  was  no  mortal 
known  to  him,  with  whom  he  might  find  counsel  in  the  busi- 
ness. Therefore  he  made  search  among  the  Christian  slaves 
for  a  man  skilful  in  gardening  ;  and  lighted  exactly  on  the 
wrong  hand  for  extricating  him  from  his  difficulty.  It  was 
no  wonder,  then,  that  Sheik  Kiamel  shook  his  head  con- 
templatively as  he  inspected  the  procedure  of  his  horticul- 
tural improvement ;  for  he  was  apprehensive,  that,  if  it  de- 
lighted the  Sultan  as  little  as  it  did  himself,  he  might  be  in- 
volved in  a  heavy  responsibility,  and  his  favoriteship,  at  the 
very  least,  might  take  wings  and  fly  away. 

At  Court,  this  project  had  hitherto  been  treated  as  a 
secret,  and  the  entrance  of  the  place  prohibited  to  every 
one  in  the  seraglio.  The  Sultan  purposed  to  surprise  his 
daughter  with  this  present  on  her  birth-day  ;  to  conduct  her 
with  ceremony  into  the  garden,  and  make  it  over  to  her  as 
her  own.  This  day  was  now  approaching ;  and  his  High- 
ness had  a  wish  to  take  a  view  of  everything  beforehand,  to 
get  acquainted  with  the  new  arrangements;  that  he  might 
give  himself  the  happiness  of  pointing  out  in  person  to  his 
daughter  the  peculiar  beauties  of  her  garden.  He  commu- 
nicated this  to  the  Sheik,  whom  the  tidings  did  not  much 
exhilarate ;  and  who,  in  consequence,  composed  a  short 
defensive  oration,  which  he  fondly  hoped  might  extricate 
his  head  from  the  noose,  if  the  Sultan  showed  himself  dis- 
satisfied with  the  appearance  of  his  Christian  garden. 

u  Commander  of  the  Faithful,"  he  purposed  to  say,  "  thy 


MELECHSALA.  171 

nod  is  the  director  of  my  path  ;  my  feet  hasten  whither  thou 
leadest  them,  and  my  hand  holds  fast  what  thou  committest 
to  it.  Thou  wishedst  a  garden  after  the  manner  of  the 
Franks  ;  here  stands  it  before  thy  eyes.  These  untutored 
barbarians  have  no  gardens  ;  but  meagre  wastes  of  sand, 
which,  in  their  own  rude  climate,  where  no  dates  or  lemons 
ripen,  and  there  is  neither  Kalaf  nor  Bahobab,*  they  plant 
with  grass  and  weeds.  For  the  curse  of  the  Prophet  has 
smitten  with  perpetual  barrenness  the  plains  of  the  Unbe- 
liever, and  forbidden  him  any  foretaste  of  Paradise  by  the 
perfume  of  the  Mecca  balm-tree,  or  the  enjoyment  of  spicy 
fruits." 

The  day  was  far  spent,  when  the  Sultan,  attended  only 
by  the  Sheik,  stept  into  the  garden,  in  high  expectation  of 
the  wonders  he  was  to  behold.  A  wide,  unobstructed  pros- 
pect over  a  part  of  the  city,  and  the  mirror  surface  of  the 
Nile  with  its  Musherns,  Shamdecks,  and  Sheomeonsi  sailing 
to  and  fro  ;  in  the  background,  the  skyward-pointing  pyr- 
amids, and  a  chain  of  blue,  vapory  mountains,  met  his  eye 
from  the  upper  terrace,  no  longer  shrouded  in  by  the  leafy 
grove  of  palms.  A  refreshing  breath  of  air  was  also  stir- 
ring in  the  place,  and  fanning  him  agreeably.  Crowds  of 
new  objects  pressed  on  him  from  every  side.  The  garden 
had  in  truth  got  a  strange,  foreign  aspect ;  and  the  old  park 
which  had  been  his  promenade  from  youth  upwards,  and 
had  long  since  wearied  him  by  its  everlasting  sameness,  was 
no  longer  to  be  recognised.  The  knowing  Kurt  had  judged 
wisely,  that  the  charm  of  novelty  would  have  its  influence. 
The  Sultan  tried  this  horticultural  metamorphosis  not  by  the 
principles   of   a  critic,   but  by   its   first  impression   on  the 

*  Kalaf,  a  shrub,  from  whose  blossoms  a  liquor  is  extracted,  resem- 
bling our  cherry- water,  and  much  used  in  domestic  medicine.  Baho- 
bab, a  sort  of  fruit,  in  great  esteem  among  the  Egyptians. 

t  Various  sorts  of  sailing  craft  in  use  there. 


172 


MUSAEUS. 


senses  ;  and  as  these  are  easily  decoyed  into  contentment 
by  the  bait  of  singularity,  the  whole  seemed  good  and  right 
to  him  there  as  he  found  it.  Even  the  crooked  unsymmet- 
rical  walks,  overlaid  with  hard  stamped  gravel,  gave  his  feet 
an  elastic  force,  and  a  light  firm  tread,  accustomed  as  he 
was  to  move  on  nothing  else  but  Persian  carpets,  or  on  the 
soft  green  sward.  He  could  not  satisfy  himself  with  wan- 
dering up  and  down  the  labyrinthic  walks ;  and  he  showed 
himself  especially  contented  with  the  rich  variety  of  wild 
flowers,  which  had  been  fostered  and  cultivated  with  the 
greatest  care,  though  they  were  blossoming  of  their  own 
accord,  outside  the  wall,  with  equal  luxuriance,  and  in 
greater  multitude. 

At  last,  having  placed  himself  upon  a  seat/ he  turned  to 
the  Sheik  with  a  cheerful  countenance,  and  said  :  "  Kiamel, 
thou  hast  not  deceived  my  expectation ;  I  well  anticipated 
that  thou  wouldst  transform  me  this  old  park  into  something 
singular,  and  diverse  from  the  fashion  of  the  land  ;  and  now 
I  will  not  hide  my  satisfaction  from  thee.  Melechsala  may 
accept  thy  work  as  a  garden  after  the  manner  of  the 
Franks." 

The  Sheik,  when  he  heard  his  despot  talk  in  this  dialect, 
marvelled  much  that  all  things  took  so  well  ;  and  blessed 
himself  that  he  had  held  his  tongue,  and  retained  his  defen- 
sive oration  to  himself.  Perceiving  that  the  Sultan  seemed 
to  look  upon  the  whole  as  his  invention,  he  directly  turned 
the  rudder  of  his  talk  to  the  favorable  breeze  which  was 
rustling  his  sails,  and  spoke  thus  :  "  Puissant  Commander 
of  the  Faithful,  be  it  known  to  thee  that  thy  obedient  slave 
took  thought  with  himself  day  and  night  how  he  might 
produce  out  of  this  old  date  grove,  at  thy  beck  and  order, 
something  unexampled,  the  like  of  which  had  never  been  in 
Egypt  before.  Doubtless  it  was  an  inspiration  of  the  Prophet 
that  suggested  the  idea  of  planning  it  according  to  the  pattern 


MELECHSALA. 


173 


of  Paradise  ;  for  I  trusted  that  by  so  doing  I  should  not  fail 
to  meet  the  intention  of  thy  Highness." 

The  worthy  Sultan's  conception  of  the  Paradise,  which  to 
all  appearance  by  the  course  of  nature  he  must  soon  become 
possessed  of,  had  still  been  exceedingly  confused ;  or  rather 
like  the  favored  of  fortune,  who  take  their^  ease  in  this 
lower  world,  he  had  never  troubled  himself  much  about  the 
other.  But  whenever  any  Dervish  or  Iman,  or  other  spirit- 
ual person,  mentioned  Paradise,  some  image  of  his  old  park 
used  to  rise  on  his  fancy ;  and  the  park  was  not  by  any 
means  his  favorite  scene.  Now,  however,  his  imagination 
had  been  steered  on  quite  a  different  tack.  The  new  picture 
of  his  future  happiness  filled  his  soul  with  joy ;  at  least  he 
could  now  suppose  that  Paradise  might  not  be  so  dull  as 
he  had  hitherto  figured  it;  and  believing  that  he  now  pos- 
sessed a  model  of  it  on  the  small  scale,  he  formed  a  high 
opinion  of  the  garden ;  and  expressed  this  forthwith,  by 
directly  making  Sheik  Kiamel  a  Bey,  and  presenting  him 
with  a  splendid  caftan.  Your  thorough-paced  courtier  belies 
his  nature  in  no  quarter  of  the  world.  Kiamel,  without  the 
slightest  hesitation,  modestly  appropriated  the  reward  of  a 
service  which  his  functionary  had  performed  ;  not  uttering 
a  syllable  about  him  to  the  Sultan,  and  thinking  him  rather 
too  liberally  rewarded  by  a  few  aspers  which  he  added  to 
his  daily  pay. 

About  the  time  when  the  Sun  enters  the  Ram,  a  celestial 
phenomenon,  which  in  our  climates  is  the  watch-word  for 
winter  to  commence  his  operation,  but  under  the  milder 
sky  of  Egypt  announces  the  finest  season  of  the  year,  the 
Flower  of  the  World  stept  forth  into  the  garden  which  had 
been  prepared  for  her,  and  found  it  altogether  to  her  foreign 
taste.  She  herself  was,  in  truth,  its  greatest  ornament;  any 
scene  where  she  had  wandered,  had  it  been  a  desert  in 
Arabia  the  Stony,  or  a  Greenland  ice-field,  would,  in  the 
15* 


174 


MUSAEUS. 


eyes  of  a  gallant  person,  have  been  changed  into  Elysium 
at  her  appearance.  The  wilderness  of  flowers,  which 
chance  had  mingled  in  interminable  rows,  gave  equal  occu- 
pation to  her  eye  and  her  spirit;  the  disorder  itself  she 
assimilated,  by  her  sprightly  allegories,  to  methodical  ar- 
rangement. 

According  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  every  time  she 
entered  the  garden,  all  specimens  of  the  male  sex,  planters, 
diggers,  water-carriers,  were  expelled  by  her  guard  of 
Eunuchs.  The  Grace  for  whom  our  artist  worked  was 
thus  hidden  from  his  eyes,  much  as  he  could  have  wished 
for  once  to  behold  this  Flower  of  the  World,  which  had  so 
long  been  a  riddle  in  his  botany.  But  as  the  Princess  used 
to  overstep  the  fashions  of  the  East  in  many  points,  so  by 
degrees,  while  she  grew  to  like  the  garden  more  and  more, 
and  to  pay  it  several  visits  daily,  she  began  to  feel  obstruct- 
ed and  annoyed  by  the  attendance  of  her  guard  sallying 
out  before  her  in  solemn  parade,  as  if  the  Sultan  had  been 
riding  to  mosque  in  the  Bairam  festival.  She  frequently 
appeared  alone,  or  leaning  on  the  arm  of  some  favorite 
waiting- woman  ;  always,  however,  with  a  thin  veil  over  her 
face,  and  a  little  rush  basket  in  her  hand.  She  wandered 
jup  and  down  the  walks,  plucking  flowers,  which,  according 
to  custom,  she  arranged  into  emblems  of  her  thoughts,  and 
distributed  among  her  people. 

One  morning,  before  the  hot  season  of  the  day,  while 
the  dew-drops  were  still  reflecting  all  the  colors  of  the 
rainbow  from  the  grass,  she  visited  her  Tempe  to  enjoy  the 
cool  morning  air,  just  as  her  gardener  was  employed  in  lift- 
ing from  the  ground  some  faded  plants,  and  replacing  them 
by  others  newly  blown,  which  he  was  carefully  transporting 
in  flower-pots,  and  then  cunningly  inserting  in  the  soil  with 
all  their  appurtenances,  as  if  by  a  magic  vegetation  they 
had  started  from  the  bosom  of  the  Earth  in  a  single  night. 


MELECHSALA.  175 

The  Princess  noticed  with  pleasure  this  pretty  deception  ,of 
the  senses,  and  having  now  found  out  the  secret  of  the  flow- 
ers which  she  plucked  away  being  daily  succeeded  by  fresh 
ones,  so  that  there  was  never  any  want,  she  thought  of 
turning  her  discovery  to  advantage,  and  instructing  the 
gardener  how  and  when  to  arrange  them,  and  make  them 
blossom.  On  raising  his  eyes,  the  Count  beheld  this  female 
Angel,  whom  he  took  for  the  possessor  of  the  garden,  for 
she  was  encircled  with  celestial  charms  as  with  a  halo.  He 
was  so  surprised  by  this  appearance  that  he  dropped  a 
flower-pot  from  his  hands,  forgetful  of  the  precious  colo- 
cassia  contained  in  it,  which  ended  its  tender  life  as  tragi- 
cally as  the  Sieur  Pilastre  de  Rosier,  though  both  only  fell 
into  the  bosom  of  their  mother  Earth. 

The  Count  stood  petrified  like  a  statue  without  life  or 
motion  ;  one  might  have  broken  off  his  nose,  as  the  Turks 
do  with  stone  statues  in  temples  and  gardens,  and  never 
have  aroused  him.  But  the  sweet  voice  of  the  Princess, 
who  opened  her  purple  lips,  recalled  him  to  his  senses. 
"  Christian,"  said  she,  "  be  not  afraid  !  It  is  my  blame  that 
thou  art  here  beside  me ;  go  forward  with  thy  work,  and 
order  thy  flowers  as  I  shall  bid  thee."—"  Glorious  Flower 
of  the  World  !  "  replied  the  gardener,  u  in  whose  splendor 
all  the  colors  of  this  blossomy  creation  wax  pale,  thou 
reignest  here  as  in  thy  firmament,  like  the  Star-queen  on 
the  battlements  of  Heaven.  Let  thy  nod  enliven  the  hand 
of  the  happiest  among  thy  slaves,  who  kisses  his  fetters,  so 
thou  think  him  worthy  to  perform  thy  commands."  The 
Princess  had  not  expected  that  a  slave  would  open  his 
mouth  to  her,  still  less  pay  her  compliments,  and  her  eyes 
had  been  directed  rather  to  the  flowers  than  the  planter 
She  now  deigned  to  cast  a  glance  on  him,  and  was  as- 
tonished to  behold  a  man  of  the  most  noble  form,  surpass- 
ing in  masculine  grace  all  that  she  had  ever  seen  or 
dreamed  of. 


17G  MUSAEUS. 

Count  Ernst  of  Gleichen  had  been  celebrated  for  his 
manly  beauty  over  all  Germany.  At  the  tournament  of 
Wiirzburg,  he  had  been  the  hero  of  the  dames.  When  he 
raised  his  visor  to  take  air,  the  running  of  the  boldest  spear- 
men was  lost  for  every  female  eye  ;  all  looked  on  him 
alone  ;  and  when  he  closed  his  helmet  to  begin  a  course,  the 
chastest  bosom  heaved  higher,  and  all  hearts  beat  anxious 
sympathy  with  the  lordly  Knight.  The  partial  hand  of  the 
Duke  of  Bavaria's  love-sick  niece  had  crowned  him  with  a 
guerdon,  which  the  young  man  blushed  to  receive.  His 
seven  years'  durance  in  the  Grated  Tower  had  indeed  paled 
his  blooming  cheeks,  relaxed  his  firm-set  limbs,  and  dulled 
the  fire  of  his  eyes  ;  but  the  enjoyment  of  the  free  atmo- 
sphere, and  Labor,  the  playmate  of  Health,  had  now  made 
good  the  loss,  with  interest.  He  was  flourishing  like  a 
laurel,  which  has  pined  throughout  the  long  winter  in  the 
green-house,  and  at  the  return  of  spring  sends  forth  new 
leaves,  and  gets  a  fair,  verdant  crown. 

With  her  predilection  for  all  foreign  things,  the  Princess 
could  not  help  contemplating  with  satisfaction  the  attractive 
figure  of  the  stranger ;  and  it  never  struck  her  that  the  sight 
of  an  Endymion  may  have  quite  another  influence  on  a 
maiden's  heart,  than  the  creation  of  a  milliner,  set  up  for 
show  in  her  booth.  With  kind,  gentle  voice,  she  gave  her 
handsome  gardener  orders  how  to  manage  the  arrangement 
of  his  flowers  ;  often  asked  his  own  advice  respecting  it, 
and  talked  with  him  so  long  as  any  horticultural  idea  was  in 
her  head.  She  left  him  at  length,  but  scarcely  was  she 
gone  five  paces,  when  she  turned  to  give  him  fresh  commis- 
sions ;  and  as  she  took  a  promenade  along  the  serpentine- 
walk,  she  called  him  again  to  her,  and  put  new  questions 
to  him,  and  proposed  new  improvements  before  she  went 
away.  As  the  day  began  to  cool,  she  again  felt  the  want 
of  fresh  air  ;  and  scarcely  had  the  sun  returned   to  gild  the 


MELECHSALA.  177 

waxing  Nile,  when  a  wish  to  see  the  awakening  flowers 
unfold  their  blossoms  brought  her  back  into  the  garden. 
Day  after  day  her  love  of  fresh  air  and  awakening  flowers 
increased  ;  and  in  these  visits  she  never  failed  to  go  directly 
to  the  place  where  her  florist  was  laboring,  and  give  him 
new  orders,  which  he  strove  punctually  and  speedily  to 
execute. 

One  day  the  Bostangi,*  when  she  came  to  see  him,  was 
not  to  be  found ;  she  wandered  up  and  down  the  intertwisted 
walks,  regardless  of  the  flowers  that  were  blooming  around 
her,  and,  by  the  high  tints  of  their  colors  and  the  balmy  air 
of  their  perfumes,  as  if  striving  with  each  other  to  attract 
her  attention  ;  she  expected  him  behind  every  bush,  searched 
every  branching  plant  that  might  conceal  him,  fancied  she 
should  find  him  in  the  grotto,  and,  on  his  failing  to  appear, 
made  a  pilgrimage  to  all  the  groves  in  the  garden,  hoping  to 
surprise  him  somewhere  asleep,  and  enjoying  the  embarrass- 
ment which  he  would  feel  when  she  awoke  him ;  but  the 
head-gardener  nowhere  met  her  eye.  By  chance  she  came 
upon  the  stoical  Viet,  the  Count's  Groom,  a  dull  piece  of 
mechanism,  whom  his  master  had  been  able  to  make  noth- 
ing out  of  but  a  drawer  of  water.  On  perceiving  her,  he 
wheeled  with  his  water-cans  to  the  left-about,  that  he  might 
not  meet  her,  but  she  called  him  to  her,  and  asked,  Where 
the  Bostangi  was  ?  "  Where  else,"  said  he,  in  his  sturdy 
way,  "  but  in  the  hands  of  the  Jewish  quacksalver,  who  will 
sweat  the  soul  from  his  body  in  a  trice  ?  "  These  tidings 
cut  the  lovely  Princess  to  the  heart,  for  she  had  never 
dreamed  that  it  was  sickness  which  prevented  her  Bostangi 
from  appearing  at  his  post.  She  immediately  returned  to 
her  palace,  where  her  women  saw,  with  consternation,  that 
the  serene  brow  of  their  mistress  was  overcast,  as  when  the 
moist  breath  of  the  south  wind  has  dimmed  the  mirror  of  the 

*  Head  gardener. 


178  MUSAEUS. 

sky,  and  the  hovering  vapors  have  collected  into  clouds.  In 
retiring  to  the  Seraglio,  she  had  plucked  a  variety  of  flow- 
ers, but  all  were  of  a  mournful  character,  and  bound  with 
cypress  and  rosemary,  indicating  clearly  enough  the  sadness 
of  her  mood.  She  did  the  same  for  several  days,  which 
brought  her  council  of  women  into  much  perplexity,  and 
many  deep  debates  about  the  cause  of  their  fair  Melechsala's 
grief;  but  withal,  as  in  female  consultations  too  often  hap- 
pens, they  arrived  at  no  conclusion,  as  in  calling  for  the 
vote  there  was  such  a  dissonance  of  opinions,  that  no  har- 
monious note  could  be  discovered  in  them.  The  truth  was, 
Count  Ernst's  too  zealous  efforts  to  anticipate  every  nod  of 
the  Princess,  and  realize  whatever  she  expressed  the  faint- 
est hint  of,  had  so  acted  on  a  frame  unused  to  labor,  that 
his  health  suffered  under  it,  and  he  was  seized  with  a  fever. 
Yet  the  Jewish  pupil  of  Galen,  or  rather  the  Count's  fine 
constitution,  mastered  the  disease,  and  in  a  few  days  he  was 
able  to  resume  his  tasks.  The  instant  the  Princess  noticed 
him,  the  clouds  fled  away  from  her  brow  ;  and  her  female 
senate,  to  whom  her  melancholy  humor  had  remained  an 
inexplicable  riddle,  now  unanimously  voted  that  some  flow- 
er-plant, of  whose  progress  she  had  been  in  doubt,  had  now 
taken  root  and  begun  to  thrive,  a  conclusion  not  inaccurate, 
if  taken  allegorically. 

Princess  Melechsala  was  still  as  innocent  in  heart  as  she 
had  come  from  the  hands  of  Nature.  She  had  never  got 
the  smallest  warning  or  foreboding  of  the  rogueries  which 
Amor  is  wont  to  play  on  inexperienced  beauties.  Hitherto, 
on  the  whole,  there  has  been  a  want  of  Hints  for  Prin- 
cesses and  Maidens  in  regard  to  love  ;  though  a  satisfactory 
theory  of  that  kind  might  do  infinitely  greater  service  to 
the  world  than  any  Hints  for  the  Instructors  of  Princes  ;* 

*  Allusion  to  a  small  Treatise,  which,  about  the  time  MusRus 
wrote  his  story,  had  appeared  under  that  title.  — Wieland. 


MELECHSALA.  179 

a  class  of  persons  who  regard  no  hint,  however  broad,  nay, 
sometimes  take  it  ill  ;  whereas  maidens  never  fail  to  notice 
every  hint,  and  pay  heed  to  it,  their  perception  being  finer, 
and  a  secret  hint  precisely  their  affair.  The  Princess  was 
still  in  the  first  noviciate  of  love,  and  had  not  the  slightest 
knowledge  of  its  mysteries.  She  therefore  yielded  wholly 
to  her  feelings,  without  scrupling  in  the  least,  or  ever  calling 
a  Divan  of  the  three  confidants  of  her  heart,  Reason,  Pru- 
dence, and  Reflection,  to  deliberate  on  the  business.  Had 
she  done  so,  doubtless  the  concern  she  felt  in  the  circum- 
stances of  the  Bostangi  would  have  indicated  to  her  that  the 
germ  of  an  unknown  passion  was  already  vegetating  strong- 
ly in  her  heart,  and  Reason  and  Reflection  would  have 
whispered  to  her  that  this  passion  was  love.  Whether  in 
the  Count's  heart  there  was  any  similar  process  going  on  in 
secret,  we  have  no  diplomatic  evidence  before  us  ;  his  over- 
anxious zeal  to  execute  the  commands  of  his  mistress  might 
excite  some  such  conjecture  ;  and  if  so,  a  bunch  of  Lovage 
with  a  withered  stalk  of  Honesty,  tied  up  together,  might 
have  befitted  him  as  an  allegorical  nosegay.  Perhaps,  how- 
ever, it  was  nothing  but  an  innocent,  chivalrous  feeling  which 
occasioned  this  distinguished  alacrity  ;  for  in  those  times  it 
was  the  most  inviolable  law  of  Knighthood,  that  its  profes- 
sors should  in  all  things  rigorously  conform  to  the  injunctions 
of  the  fair. 

No  day  now  passed  without  the  good  Melechsala's  hold- 
ing trustful  conversation  with  her  Bostangi.  The  soft  tone 
of  her  voice  delighted  his  ear,  and  every  one  of  her  ex- 
pressions seemed  to  say  something  flattering  to  him.  Had 
he  been  endowed  with  the  self-confidence  of  a  court  lord, 
he  would  have  turned  so  fair  a  situation  to  profit  for  making 
farther  advances  ;  but  he  constantly  restrained  himself  with- 
in the  bounds  of  modesty.  And  as  the  Princess  was  entirely 
inexperienced  in  the  science  of  coquetry,  and  knew  not  how 


180  MUSAEUS. 

to  set  about  encouraging  the  timid  shepherd  to  the  stealing 
of  her  heart,  the  whole  intrigue  revolved  upon  the  axis  of 
mutual  good-will ;  and  might  undoubtedly  have  long  con- 
tinued so  revolving,  had  not  Chance,  which  we  all  know 
commonly  officiates  as  primum  mobile  in  every  change  of 
things,  ere  long  given  the  scene  another  form. 

About  sunset,  one  very  beautiful  day,  the  Princess  visited 
the  garden  ;  her  soul  was  as  bright  as  the  horizon  ;  she  talked 
delightfully  with  her  Bostangi  about  many  indifferent  mat- 
ters, for  the  mere  purpose  of  speaking  to  him  ;  and  after 
he  had  filled  her  flower-basket,  she  seated  herself  in  a  grove 
and  bound  up  a  nosegay,  with  which  she  presented  him. 
The  Count,  as  a  mark  of  reverence  to  his  fair  mistress,  fast- 
ened it,  with  a  look  of  surprise  and  delight,  to  the  breast  of 
his  waistcoat,  without  ever  dreaming  that  the  flowers  might 
have  a  secret  import ;  for  these  hieroglyphics  were  hidden 
from  his  eyes,  as  from  the  eyes  of  a  discerning  public  the 
secret  wheel-work  of  the  famous  Wooden  Chess-player. 
And  as  the  Princess  did  not  afterwards  expound  that  secret 
import,  it  has  withered  away  with  the  blossoms,  and  been 
lost  to  the  knowledge  of  posterity.  Meanwhile,  she  herself 
supposed  that  the  language  of  flowers  must  be  as  plain  to 
all  mortals  as  their  mother-tongue ;  she  never  doubted, 
therefore,  but  her  favorite  had  understood  the  whole  quite 
right ;  and  as  he  looked  at  her  with  such  an  air  of  rever- 
ence when  he  took  the  nosegay,  she  accepted  his  gestures 
as  expressions  of  modest  thanks  for  the  praise  of  his  activ- 
ity and  zeal,  which,  in  all  probability,  the  flowers  had  been 
meant  to  convey.  She  now  took  a  thought  of  putting  his 
inventiveness  to  proof  in  her  turn,  and  trying  whether  in 
this  flowery  dialect  of  thanks  he  could  pay  a  pretty  compli- 
ment;  or,  in  a  word,  translate  the  present  aspect  of  his 
countenance,  which  betrayed  the  feelings  of  his  heart,  into 
flower-writing  ;  and  accordingly,  she   asked  him  for  a  nose- 


MELECHSALA.  181 

gay  of  his  composition.  The  Count,  affected  by  such  a 
proof  of  condescending  goodness,  darted  to  the  end  of  the 
garden,  into  a  remote  green-house,  where  he  had  established 
his  flower-depot,  and  out  of  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
transferring  his  plants  to  the  soil,  as  they  came  into  blossom, 
without  stirring  them  from  their  pots.  There  chanced  to  be 
an  aromatic  plant  just  then  in  bloom,  a  flower  named  Mush' 
irumi*  by  the  Arabs,  and  which  hitherto  had  not  appeared 
in  the  garden.  With  this  novelty  Count  Ernst  imagined 
he  might  give  a  little  harmless  pleasure  to  his  fair  florist; 
and  accordingly,  for  want  of  a  waiter,  having  put  a  broad 
fig-leaf  under  it,  he  held  it  to  her  on  his  knees,  with  a  look 
expressive  of  humility,  yet  claiming  a  little  merit;  for  he 
thought  to  earn  a  word  of  praise  by  it.  But,  with  the 
utmost  consternation,  he  perceived  that  the  Princess  turned 
away  her  face,  and,  so  far  as  he  could  notice  through  the 
veil,  cast  down  her  eyes  as  if  ashamed,  and  looked  on  the 
ground,  without  uttering  a  word.  She  hesitated,  and  seemed 
embarrassed  in  accepting  it;  not  deigning  to  cast  a  look  on 
it,  but  laying  it  beside  her  on  the  seat.  Her  gay  humor 
had  departed  ;  she  assumed  a  majestic  attitude,  announcing 
haughty  earnestness  ;  and  after  a  few  moments  left  the  grove 
without  taking  any  farther  notice  of  her  favorite,  not,  how- 
ever, leaving  her  Musldrumi  behind  her,  but  carefully  con- 
cealing it  under  her  veil. 

The  Count  was  thunderstruck  at  this  enigmatical  catastro- 
phe ;  he  could  not  for  his  life  understand  the  meaning  of 
this  strange  behavior,  and  continued  sitting  on  his  knees,  in 
the  position  of  a  man  doing  penance,  for  some  time  after  his 
Princess  had  left  the  place.  It  grieved  him  to  the  heart, 
that  he  should  have  displeased  and  alienated  this  divinity, 
whom,  for  her  condescending  kindness,   he  venerated  as  a 

*  Hyacinthus  Muscari. 
VOL.  I.  16 


182 


MUSAEUS. 


Saint  of  Heaven.  When  his  first  consternation  had  subsid- 
ed, he  slunk  home  to  his  dwelling,  timid  and  rueful,  like 
a  man  conscious  of  some  heavy  crime.  The  mettled  Kurt 
had  supper  on  the  table  ;  but  his  master  would  not  bite,  and 
kept  forking  about  in  the  plate,  without  carrying  a  morsel  to 
his  lips.  By  this  the  trusty  Dapifer  perceived  that  all 
was  not  right  with  the  Count ;  wherefore  he  vanished  speed- 
ily from  the  room,  and  uncorked  a  flask  of  Chian  wine  ; 
which  Grecian  care-dispeller  did  not  fail  in  its  effect.  The 
Count  became  communicative,  and  disclosed  to  his  faithful 
Squire  the  adventure  in  the  garden.  Their  speculations  on 
it  were  protracted  to  a  late  hour,  without  affording  any  ten- 
able hypothesis  for  the  displeasure  of  the  Princess  ;  and  as 
with  all  their  pondering  nothing  could  be  discovered,  master 
and  servant  betook  them  to  repose.  The  latter  found  it 
without  difficulty ;  the  former  sought  it  in  vain,  and  watched 
throughout  the  painful  night,  till  the  dawn  recalled  him  to 
his  employments. 

At  the  hour  when  Melechsala  used  to  visit  him,  the  Count 
kept  an  eager  eye  on  the  entrance,  but  the  door  of  the  Se- 
raglio did  not  open.  He  waited  the  second  day  ;  then  the 
third  ;  the  door  of  the  Seraglio  was  as  if  walled  up  within. 
Had  not  the  Count  of  Gleichen  been  a  sheer  idiot  in  flower- 
language,  he  would  readily  have  found  the  key  to  this  sur- 
prising behavior  of  the  Princess.  By  presenting  the 
flower  to  her,  he  had,  in  fact,  without  knowing  a  syllable  of 
the  matter,  made  a  formal  declaration  of  love,  and  that  in 
no  Platonic  sense.  For  when  an  Arab  lover  by  some  trusty 
hand  privily  transmits  a  Mushirumi  flower  to  his  mistress, 
he  gives  her  credit  for  penetration  enough  to  discover  the 
only  rhyme  which  exists  in  the  Arabian  language  for  the 
word.  This  rhyme  is  Ydskerumi,  which,  delicately  render- 
ed, means  reward  of  love.*     To  this   invention   it  must  be 

*  Hasselquist's  Travels  in  Palestine. 


MELECHSALA. 


183 


conceded,  that  there  cannot  be  a  more  compendious  method 
of  proceeding  in  the  business  than  this  of  the  Mushirumi, 
which  might  well  deserve  the  imitation  of  our  Western 
lovers.  The  whole  insipid  scribbling  of  Billets-Doux,  which 
often  cost  their  authors  so  much  toil  and  brain-beating,  often, 
when  they  come  into  the  wrong  hand  are  pitilessly  mangled 
by  hard-hearted  jesters,  often  by  the  fair  receivers  them- 
selves mistreated  or  falsely  interpreted,  might  by  this  means 
be  dispensed  with.  It  need  not  be  objected  that  the  Mush- 
irumi,  or  Muscadine-hyacinth,  flowers  but  rarely,  and  for  a 
short  time,  in  our  climates  ;  because  an  imitation  of  it  might 
be  made  by  our  Parisian  or  native  gumflower-makers,  to 
supply  the  wants  of  lovers  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  ;  and 
an  inland  trade  in  this  domestic  manufacture  might  easily 
afford  better  profit  than  our  present  speculations  with  Amer- 
ica. Nor  would  a  Chevalier  in  Europe  have  to  dread  that 
the  presenting  of  so  eloquent  a  flower  might  be  charged 
upon  him  as  a  capital  offence,  for  which  his  life  might  have 
to  answer,  as  in  the  East  could  very  simply  happen.  Had 
not  Princess  Melechsala  been  so  kind  and  soft  a  soul,  or  had 
not  omnipotent  Love  subdued  the  pride  of  the  Sultan's 
daughter,  the  Count,  for  this  flower  gallantry,  innocently  as 
on  his  part  it  was  intended,  must  have  paid  with  his  head. 
But  the  Princess  was  in  the  main  so  little  indignant  at  receiv- 
ing this  expressive  flower,  that  on  the  contrary  the  fancied 
proffer  struck  a  chord  in  her  heart,  which  had  long  been 
vibrating  before,  and  drew  from  it  a  melodious  tone.  Yet 
her  virgin  modesty  was  hard  put  to  proof,  when  her  favorite, 
as  she  supposed,  presumed  to  entreat  of  her  the  reward  of 
love.  It  was  on  this  account  that  she  had  turned  away  her 
face  at  his  proposal.  A  purple  blush,  which  the  veil  had 
hidden  from  the  Count,  overspread  her  tender  cheeks,  her 
snow-white  bosom  heaved,  and  her  heartbeat  higher  beneath 
it.     Bashfulness  and  tenderness  were  fighting  a  fierce  battle 


184  AIUSAEUS. 

■within  it,  and  her  embarrassment  was  such  that  she  could 
not  utter  a  word.  For  a  time  she  had  been  in  doubt  what 
to  do  with  the  perplexing  Mushirumi ;  to  disdain  it  was  to 
rob  her  lover  of  all  hope  ;  to  accept  it  was  the  promise 
that  his  wishes  should  be  granted.  The  balance  of  resolu- 
tion wavered,  now  to  this  side,  now  to  that,  till  at  length 
love  decided  ;  she  took  the  flower  with  her,  and  this  at  least 
secured  the  Count's  head,  in  the  first  place.  But  in  her  sol- 
itary chamber,  there  doubtless  ensued  much  deep  deliber- 
ation about  the  consequences  which  this  step  might  produce  ; 
and  the  situation  of  the  Princess  was  the  more  difficult,  that, 
in  her  ignorance  of  the  concerns  of  the  heart,  she  knew  not 
how  to  act  of  herself;  and  durst  not  risk  disclosing  the  affair 
to  any  other,  if  she  would  not  leave  the  life  of  her  beloved 
and  her  own  fate  at  the  caprice  of  a  third  party. 

It  is  easier  to  watch  a  goddess  at  the  bath,  than  to  pene- 
trate the  secrets  of  an  Oriental  Princess  in  the  bed-chamber 
of  the  Seraglio.  It  is  therefore  difficult  for  the  historian  to 
determine  whether  Melechsala  left  the  Mushirumi,  which  she 
had  accepted  of,  to  wither  on  her  dressing-table  ;  or  put  it 
in  fresh  water,  to  preserve  it  for  the  solace  of  her  eyes  as 
long  as  possible.  In  like  manner,  it  is  difficult  to  discover 
whether  this  fair  Princess  spent  the  night  asleep,  with  gay 
dreams  dancing  round  her,  or  awake,  a  victim  to  the  wast- 
ing cares  of  love.  The  latter  is  more  probable,  since  early 
in  the  morning  there  arose  great  dole  and  lamentation  in  the 
Palace,  as  the  Princess  made  her  appearance  with  pale 
cheeks  and  languid  eyes  ;  so  that  her  female  council  dread- 
ed the  approach  of  grievous  sickness.  The  Court  Physician 
was  called  in  ;  the  same  bearded  Hebrew  who  had  floated 
off  the  Count's  fever  in  his  sweat-bath  ;  he  was  now  to  ex- 
amine the  pulse  of  a  more  delicate  patient.  According  to 
the  custom  of  the  country,  she  was  lying  on  a  sofa,  with  a 
large  screen  in  front  of  it,  provided  with  a  little  opening, 


MELECHSALA.  185 

through  which  she  stretched  her  beautifully  turned  arm, 
twice  and  three  times  wrapt  with  fine  muslin,  to  protect  it 
from  the  profane  glance  of  a  masculine  eye.  "  God  help 
me  !  "  whispered  the  Doctor  into  the  chief  waiting-woman's 
ear  ;  "  things  have  a  bad  look  with  her  Highness  ;  the  pulse 
is  quivering  like  a  mouse-tail.1'  At  the  same  time,  with 
practical  policy,  he  shook  his  head  dubitatingly,  as  cunning 
doctors  are  wont ;  ordered  abundance  of  Kalaf,  and  other 
cordials,  and  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders  predicted  a  dan- 
gerous fever. 

Nevertheless,  these  alarming  symptoms,  which  the  med- 
ical gentleman  considered  as  so  many  heralds  announcing 
the  approach  of  a  malignant  distemper,  appeared  to  be 
nothing  more  than  the  consequences  of  a  bad  night's-rest  ; 
for  the  patient  having  taken  her  siesta  about  noon,  found 
herself,  to  the  Israelite's  astonishment,  out  of  danger  in  the 
evening  ;  needed  no  more  drugs,  and  by  the  orders  of  her 
iEsculapius  was  required  merely  to  keep  quiet  for  a  day  or 
two.  This  space  she  employed  in  maturely  deliberating 
her  intrigue,  and  devising  ways  and  means  for  fulfilling  the 
demands  of  the  Mushirumi.  She  was  diligently  occupied, 
inventing,  proving,  choosing,  and  rejecting.  One  hour  fancy 
smoothed  away  the  most  impassable  mountains  ;  and  the 
next,  she  saw  nothing  but  clefts  and  abysses,  from  the  brink 
of  which  she  shuddered  back,  and  over  which  the  boldest 
imagination  could  not  build  a  bridge.  Yet  on  all  these  rocks 
of  offence  she  grounded  the  firm  resolution  to  obey  the 
feelings  of  her  heart,  come  what  come  might  ;  a  piece  of 
heroism  not  unusual  with  Mother  Eve's  daughters  ;  which 
in  the  mean  time  they  often  pay  for  with  the  happiness  and 
contentment  of  their  lives. 

The  bolted  gate  of  the  Seraglio  at   last   went  up,  and  the 
fair  Melechsala  again  passed  through  it  into  the  garden,  like 
the  gay  Sun   through  the  portals  of  the  East.     The  Count 
16* 


186  MUSAEUS. 

observed  her  entrance  from  behind  a  grove  of  ivy  ;  and 
there  began  a  knocking  in  his  heart  as  in  a  mill ;  a  thump- 
ing and  hammering  as  if  he  had  just  run  a  race.  Was  it 
joy,  was  it  fear,  or  anxious  expecting  of  what  this  visit  would 
announce  to  him  —  forgiveness  or  disfavor  ?  Who  can  un- 
fold so  accurately  the  heart  of  man,  as  to  trace  the  origin 
and  cause  of  every  start  and  throb  in  this  irritable  muscle  ? 
In  short,  Count  Ernst  did  feel  considerable  palpitations  of 
the  heart,  so  soon  as  he  descried  the  Princess  from  afar  ; 
but  of  their  Whence  or  Why  he  could  give  his  own  mind 
no  account.  She  very  soon  dismissed  her  suite  ;  and  from 
all  the  circumstances  it  was  clear  that  poetical  anthology 
was  not  her  business  in  the  present  case.  She  bent  her 
course  to  the  grove  ;  and  as  the  Count  was  not  playing  hide- 
and-seek  with  much  adroitness  or  zeal,  she  found  him  with 
great  ease.  While  she  was  still  at  some  distance,  he  fell 
upon  his  knees  with  mute  eloquence  before  her,  not  ventur- 
ing to  raise  his  eyes,  and  looked  as  ruefully  as  a  delinquent 
when  the  judge  is  ready  to  pass  sentence  on  him.  The 
Princess,  however,  with  a  soft  voice  and  friendly  gesture,  said 
to  him  :  "  Bostangi,  rise  and  follow  me  into  this  grove." 
Bostangi  obeyed  in  silence  ;  and  she,  having  taken  her  seat, 
spoke  thus  :  "  The  will  of  the  Prophet  be  done  !  I  have 
called  on  him  three  days  and  three  nights  long,  to  direct  me 
by  a  sign  if  my  conduct  were  wavering  between  error  and 
folly.  He  is  silent;  and  approves  the  purpose  of  the  Ring- 
dove to  free  the  captive  Linnet  from  the  chain  with  which 
he  toilsomely  draws  water,  and  to  nestle  by  his  side.  The 
Daughter  of  the  Sultan  has  not  disdained  the  Mushirumi 
from  thy  fettered  hand.  My  lot  is  cast !  Loiter  not  in  seek- 
ing the  Iman,  that  he  lead  thee  to  the  Mosque,  and  confer  on 
thee  the  Seal  of  the  Faithful.  Then  will  my  Father,  at  my 
request,  cause  thee  to  grow  as  the  Nile-stream,  when  it 
oversteps  its  narrow  banks  and  pours  itself  into  the  valley. 


MELECHSALA.  187 

And  when  thou  art  governing  a  Province  as  its  Bey,  thou 
mayest  confidently  raise  thy  eyes  to  the  throne  ;  the  Sultan 
will  not  reject  the  son-in-law  whom  the  Prophet  has  appoint- 
ed for  his  daughter." 

Like  the  conjuration  of  some  potent  Fairy,  this  address 
again  transformed  the  Count  into  the  image  of  a  stone 
statue  ;  he  gazed  at  the  Princess  without  life  or  motion  ;  his 
cheeks  grew  pale,  and  his  tongue  was  chained.  On  the 
whole,  he  had  caught  the  meaning  of  the  speech  ;  but  how 
he  was  to  reach  the  unexpected  honor  of  becoming  the 
Sultan  of  Egypt's  son-in-law  was  an  unfathomable  mystery. 
In  this  predicament,  he  certainly,  for  an  accepted  wooer, 
did  not  make  the  most  imposing  figure  in  the  world  ;  but 
awakening  love,  like  the  rising  sun,  coats  everything  with 
gold.  The  Princess  took  his  dumb  astonishment  for  excess 
of  rapture,  and  attributed  his  visible  perplexity  of  spirit  to 
the  overwhelming  feeling  of  his  unexpected  success.  Yet 
in  her  heart  there  arose  some  virgin  scruples  lest  she  might 
have  gone  too  fast  to  work  with  the  ultimatum  of  the  court- 
ship, and  outrun  the  expectations  of  her  lover  ;  therefore  she 
again  addressed  him,  and  said  ;  "  Thou  art  silent,  Bostangi  ? 
Let  it  not  surprise  thee  that  the  perfume  of  thy  Mushirumi 
breathes  back  on  thee  the  odor  of  my  feelings  ;  in  the  cur- 
tain of  deceit  my  heart  has  never  been  shrouded.  Ought  I 
by  wavering  to  hope  to  increase  the  toil  of  the  steep  path 
which  thy  foot  must  climb  before  the  bridal  chamber  can  be 
opened  to  thee  ?  " 

During  this  speech,  the  Count  had  found  time  to  recover 
his  senses ;  he  roused  himself,  like  a  warrior  from  sleep 
when  the  alarm  is  sounded  in  the  camp.  "  Resplendent 
Flower  of  the  East,"  said  he,  u  how  shall  the  tiny  herb  that 
grows  among  the  thorns  presume  to  blossom  under  thy 
shadow  ?  Would  not  the  watchful  hand  of  the  gardener 
pluck  it  out  as  an  unseemly  weed,  and  cast  it   forth,  to  be 


188  MUSAEUS. 

trodden  under  foot  on  the  highway,  or  withered  in  the 
scorching  sun  ?  If  a  breath  of  air  stir  up  the  dust,  that  it 
soil  thy  royal  diadem,  are  not  a  hundred  hands  in  instant 
employment  wiping  it  away  ?  How  should  a  slave  desire 
the  precious  fruit  which  ripens  in  the  garden  of  the  Sultan 
for  the  palate  of  Princes  ?  At  thy  command  I  sought  a 
pleasant  flower  for  thee,  and  found  the  Mushirumi,  the  name 
of  which  was  as  unknown  to  me,  as  its  secret  import  still 
is.  Think  not  that  I  meant  aught  with  it  but  to  obey 
thee." 

This  response  distorted  the  fair  plan  of  the  Princess  very 
considerably.  She  had  not  expected  that  it  could  be  possi- 
ble for  a  European  not  to  combine  with  the  Mushirumi, 
when  presented  to  a  lady,  the  same  thought  which  the  two 
other  quarters  of  the  world  unite  with  it.  The  error  was 
now  clear  as  day  ;  but  love,  which  had  once  for  all  taken 
root  in  her  heart,  now  dexterously  winded  and  turned  the 
matter  ;  as  a  sempstress  does  a  piece  of  work  which  she  has 
cut  wrong,  till  at  last  she  makes  ends  meet  notwithstanding. 
The  Princess  concealed  her  embarrassment  by  the  playing 
of  her  fair  hands  with  the  hem  of  her  veil  ;  and,  after  a  few 
moments'  silence,  she  said,  with  gentle  gracefulness  :  "  Thy 
modesty  resembles  the  night-violet,  which  covets  not  the 
glitter  of  the  sun,  yet  is  loved  for  its  aromatic  odor.  A 
happy  chance  has  been  the  interpreter  of  thy  heart,  and 
elicited  the  feelings  of  mine.  They  are  no  longer  hid  from 
thee.  Follow  the  doctrine  of  the  Prophet,  and  thou  art  on 
the  way  to  gain  thy  wish." 

The  Count  now  began  to  perceive  the  connexion  of  the 
matter  more  and  more  distinctly  ;  the  darkness  vanished 
from  his  mind  by  degrees,  as  the  shades  of  night  before  the 
dawn.  Here,  then,  the  Tempter,  whom,  in  the  durance  of 
the  Grated  Tower,  he  had  expected  under  the  mask  of  a 
horned  satyr,  or  a  black,  shrivelled  gnome,  appeared  to  him 


MELECHSALA. 


189 


in  the  figure  of  winged  Cupid,  and  was  employing  all  his 
treacherous  arts,  persuading  him  to  deny  his  faith,  to  forsake 
his  tender  spouse,  and  forget  the  pledges  of  her  chaste  love. 
u  It  stands  in  thy  power,"  said  he,  "  to  change  thy  iron  fet- 
ters with  the  kind  ties  of  love.  The  first  beauty  in  the 
world  is  smiling  on  thee,  and  with  her  the  enjoyment  of  all 
earthly  happiness !  A  flame,  pure  as  the  fire  of  Vesta, 
burns  for  thee  in  her  bosom,  and  would  waste  her  life, 
should  folly  and  caprice  overcloud  thy  soul  to  the  refusing 
her  favor.  Conceal  thy  faith  a  little  while  under  the 
turban ;  Father  Gregory  has  water  enough  in  his  absolution- 
cistern  to  wash  thee  clean  from  such  a  sin.  Who  knows 
but  thou  mayest  earn  the  merit  of  saving  the  pure  maiden's 
soul,  and  leading  it  to  the  Heaven  for  which  it  was  in- 
tended ?  "  To  this  deceitful  oration  the  Count  would  willingly 
have  listened  longer,  had  not  his  good  Angel  twitched  him 
by  the  ear,  and  warned  him  to  give  no  farther  heed  to  the 
voice  of  temptation.  So  he  thought  that  he  must  not  speak 
with  flesh  and  blood  any  longer,  but  by  one  bold  effort  gain 
the  victory  over  himself.  The  word  died  away  more  than 
once  in  his  mouth,  but  at  last  he  took  heart, and  said  :  "The 
longing  of  the  wanderer,  astray  in  the  Lybian  wilderness,  to 
cool  his  parched  lips  in  the  fountains  of  the  Nile,  but 
aggravates  the  torments  of  his  thirsty  heart,  when  he  must 
still  languish  in  the  torrid  waste.  Therefore  think  not,  O 
best  and  gentlest  of  thy  sex,  that  such  a  wish  has  awakened 
within  me,  which,  like  a  gnawing  worm,  would  consume  my 
heart,  since  I  could  not  nourish  it  with  hope.  Know,  that, 
in  my  home,  I  am  already  joined  by  the  indissoluble  tie  of 
marriage  to  a  virtuous  wife,  and  her  three  tender  children 
lisp  their  father's  name.  How  could  a  heart,  torn  asunder 
by  sadness  and  longing,  aspire  to  the  Pearl  of  Beauty,  and 
offer  her  a  divided  love  ?  " 

This  explanation  was  distinct ;  and    the  Count  believed 


190  MUSAEUS. 

that,  as  it  were,  by  one  stroke,  and  in  the  spirit  of  true 
knighthood,  he  had  ended  this  strife  of  love.  He  conceived 
that  the  Princess  would  now  see  her  over-hasty  error,  and 
renounce  her  plan.  But  here  he  was  exceedingly  mistaken. 
The  Princess  could  not  bring  herself  to  think  that  the  Count, 
a  young,  blooming  man,  could  be  without  eyes  for  her;  she 
knew  that  she  was  lovely  ;  and  this  frank  exposition  of  the 
state  of  his  heart  made  no  impression  on  her  whatever. 
According  to  the  fashion  of  her  country,  she  had  no  thought 
of  appropriating  to  herself  the  sole  possession  of  it ;  for,  in 
the  parabolic  sport  of  the  seraglio,  she  had  often  heard  that 
man's  love  is  like  a  thread  of  silk,  which  may  be  split  and 
parted,  so  that  every  filament  shall  still  remain  a  whole.  In 
truth,  a  sensible  similitude;  which  the  wit  of  our  Occidental 
ladies  has  never  yet  lighted  on  !  Her  father's  Harem 
had  also,  from  her  earliest  years,  set  before  her  nume- 
rous instances  of  sociality  in  love  ;  the  favorites  of  the 
Sultan  lived  there  with  one  another  in  the  kindest  unity. 

"Thou  namest  me  the  Flower  of  the  World,"  replied  the 
Princess;  "but  behold,  in  this  garden  there  are  many 
flowers  blossoming  beside  me,  to  delight  eye  and  heart  by 
their  variety  of  loveliness  ;  nor  do  I  forbid  thee  to  partake 
in  this  enjoyment  along  with  me.  Should  I  require  of  thee, 
in  thy  own  garden,  to  plant  but  a  single  flower,  with  the 
constant  sight  of  which  thy  eye  would  grow  weary  ?  Thy 
wife  shall  be  sharer  of  the  happiness  I  am  providing  for 
thee  ;  thou  shalt  bring  her  into  thy  Harem  ;  to  me  she  shall 
be  welcome  ;  for  thy  sake  she  shall  become  my  dearest 
companion,  and  for  thy  sake  she  will  love  me  in  return. 
Her  little  children  also  shall  be  mine  ;  I  will  give  them 
shade,  that  they  bud  pleasantly,  and  take  root  in  this  foreign 
soil." 

The  doctrine  of  Toleration  in  Love  has,  in  our  enlight- 
ened century,  made  far  slower  progress  than  that  of  Tolera- 


MELECHSALA.  191 

tion  in  Religion  ;  otherwise  this  declaration  of  the  Princess 
could  not  seem  to  my  fair  readers  so  repulsive  as  in  all 
probability  it  will.  But  Melechsala  was  an  Oriental  ;  and 
under  that  mild  sky,  Megsera  Jealousy  has  far  less  influence 
on  the  lovelier  half  of  the  species  than  on  the  stronger  ; 
whom,  in  return,  she  does  indeed  rule  with  an  iron  scep- 
tre. 

Count  Ernst  was  affected  by  this  meek  way  of  thinking; 
and  who  knows  what  he  might  have  resolved  on,  could  he 
have  depended  on  an  equal  liberality  of  sentiment  from  his 
Ottilia  at  home,  and  contrived  in  any  way  to  overleap  the 
other  stone  of  Stumbling  which  fronted  him,  the  renuncia- 
tion of  his  creed.  He  by  no  means  hid  this  latter  difficulty 
from  the  goddess  who  was  courting  him  so  frankly ;  and, 
easy  as  it  had  been  for  her  to  remove  all  previous  obstacles, 
the  present  was  beyond  her  skill.  The  confidential  session 
was  adjourned,  without  any  settlement  of  this  contested 
point.  When  the  conference  broke  up,  the  proposals  stood 
as  in  a  frontier  conference  between  two  neighboring  states, 
where  neither  party  will  relinquish  his  rights,  and  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  matter  is  postponed  to  another  term,  while  the 
commissioners  in  the  interim  again  live  in  peace  with  each 
other,  and  enjoy  good  cheer  together. 

In  the  secret  conclave  of  the  Count,  the  mettled  Kurt,  as 
we  know,  had  a  seat  and  vote ;  his  master  opened  to  him  in 
the  evening  the  whole  progress  of  his  adventure,  for  he  was 
much  disquieted  ;  and  it  is  very  possible  that  some  spark  of 
love  may  have  sputtered  over  from  the  heart  of  the  Princess 
into  his,  too  keen  for  the  ashes  of  his  lawful  fire  to  quench. 
An  absence  of  seven  years,  the  relinquished  hope  of  ever 
being  reunited  with  the  first  beloved,  and  the  offered  oppor- 
tunity of  occupying  the  heart  as  it  desires,  are  three  critical 
circumstances,  which,  in  so  active  a  substance  as  love,  may 
easily  produce  a  fermentation  that  shall  quite  change  its  na- 


192  MUSAEUS. 

ture.  The  sagacious  Squire  pricked  up  his  ears  at  hearing 
of  these  interesting  events;  and,  as  if  the  narrow  passage 
of  the  auditory  nerves  had  not  been  sufficient  to  convey  the 
tidings  fast  enough  into  his  brain,  he  likewise  opened  the 
wide  door-way  of  his  mouth,  and  both  heard  and  tasted  the 
unexpected  news  with  great  avidity.  After  maturely  weigh- 
ing everything,  his  vote  run  thus :  To  lay  hold  of  the 
seeming  hope  of  release  with  both  hands,  and  realize  the 
Princess's  plan  ;  meanwhile,  to  do  nothing  either  for  it  or 
against  it,  and  leave  the  issue  to  Heaven.  "  You  are  blotted 
out  from  the  book  of  the  living,"  said  he,  "  in  your  native 
land  ;  from  the  abyss  of  slavery  there  is  no  deliverance,  if 
you  do  not  hitch  yourself  up  by  the  rope  of  love.  Your 
spouse,  good  lady,  will  never  return  to  your  embraces.  If, 
in  seven  years,  sorrow  for  your  loss  has  not  overpowered 
her  and  cut  her  off,  Time  has  overpowered  her  sorrow,  and 
she  is  happy  by  the  side  of  another.  But,  to  renounce  your 
religion !  That  is  a  hard  nut,  in  good  sooth  ;  too  hard  for 
you  to  crack.  Yet  there  are  means  for  this,  too.  In  no 
country  on  Earth  is  it  the  custom  for  the  wife  to  teach  the 
husband  what  road  to  take  for  Heaven ;  no,  she  follows  his 
steps,  and  is  led  and  guided  by  him  as  the  cloud  by  the 
wind  ;  looks  neither  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left,  nor 
behind  her,  like  Lot's  wife,  who  was  changed  into  a  pillar 
of  salt;  for  where  the  husband  arrives,  there  is  her  abode. 
I  have  a  wife  at  home,  too ;  but  think  you,  if  I  were  stuck 
in  Purgatory,  she  would  hesitate  to  follow  me,  and  waft 
fresh  air  upon  my  poor  soul  with  her  fan  ?  So,  depend  on 
it,  the  Princess  will  renounce  her  false  Prophet.  If  she  love 
you  truly,  she  will,  to  a  certainty,  be  glad  to  change  her 
Paradise  for  ours." 

The  mettled  Kurt  added  much  farther  speaking  to  per- 
suade his  master  that  he  ought  not  to  resist  this  royal  pas- 
sion, but  to  forget  all  other  ties,  and  free  himself  from  his 


MELECHSALA. 


193 


captivity.  It  did  not  strike  him,  that,  by  his  confidence  in 
the  affection  of  his  wife,  he  had  recalled  to  his  master's 
memory  the  affection  of  his  own  amiable  spouse  ;  a  remem- 
brance which  it  was  his  object  to  abolish.  The  heart  of 
the  Count  felt  crushed  as  in  a  press ;  he  rolled  to  this  side 
and  that  on  his  bed  ;  and  his  thoughts  and  purposes  ran 
athwart  each  other  in  the  strangest  perplexity,  till,  towards 
morning,  wearied  out  by  this  internal  tumult,  he  fell  into  a 
dead  sleep.  He  dreamed  that  his  fairest  front-tooth  had 
dropped  out,  at  which  he  felt  great  grief  and  heaviness  of 
heart;  but  on  looking  at  the  gap  in  the  mirror,  to  see 
whether  it  deformed  him  much,  a  fresh  tooth  had  grown 
forth  in  its  place,  fair  and  white  as  the  rest,  and  the  loss 
could  not  be  observed.  So  soon  as  he  awoke,  he  felt  a 
wish  to  have  his  dream  interpreted.  The  mettled  Kurt 
soon  hunted  out  a  prophetic  Gipsy,  who  by  trade  read  for- 
tunes from  the  hand  and  brow,  and  also  had  the  talent  of 
explaining  dreams.  The  Count  related  his  to  her  in  all  its 
circumstances;  and  the  dingy,  wrinkled  Pythian,  after  med- 
itating long  upon  it,  opened  her  puckered  mouth,  and  said  : 
"  What  was  dearest  to  thee  death  has  taken  away,  but  fate 
will  soon  supply  thy  loss." 

Now,  then,  it  was  plain  that  the  sage  Squire's  suppositions 
had  been  no  idle  fancies,  but  that  the  good  Ottilia,  from 
sorrow  at  the  loss  of  her  beloved  husband,  had  gone  down 
to  the  grave.  The  afflicted  widower,  who  as  little  doubted  of 
this  tragic  circumstance  as  if  it  had  been  notified  to  him  on 
black-edged  paper  with  seal  and  signature,  felt  all  that  a 
man  who  values  the  integrity  of  his  jaw  must  feel  when  he 
loses  a  tooth,  which  bountiful  Nature  is  about  to  replace 
by  another  ;  and  comforted  himself  under  this  dispensation 
with  the  well-known  balm  of  widowers:  "It  is  the  will  of 
God  ;  I  must  submit  to  it !  "  And  now,  holding  himself  free 
and   disengaged,  he  bent  all  his  sails,  hoisted   his  flags  and 

vol.  i.  17 


194 


MUSAEUS. 


streamers,  and  steered  directly  for  the  haven  of  happy 
love.  At  the  next  interview,  he  thought  the  Princess  love- 
lier than  ever ;  his  looks  languished  towards  her,  and  her 
slender  form  enchanted  his  eye,  and  her  light,  soft  gait  was 
like  the  gait  of  a  goddess,  though  she  actually  moved  the 
one  foot  past  the  other  in  mortal  wise,  and  did  not,  in  the 
style  of  goddesses,  come  hovering  along  the  variegated 
sand-walk  with  unbent  limbs.  "  Bostangi,"  said  she,  with 
melodious  voice,  "  hast  thou  spoken  to  the  Iman  ?  "  The 
Count  was  silent  for  a  moment ;  he  cast  down  his  beaming 
eyes,  laid  his  hand  submissively  on  his  breast,  and  sank  on 
his  knee  before  her.  In  this  humble  attitude,  he  answered 
resolutely:  "Exalted  daughter  of  the  Sultan!  my  life  Js 
at  thy  nod,  but  not  my  faith.  The  former  I  will  joyfully 
offer  up  to  thee,  but  leave  me  the  latter,  which  is  so  inter- 
woven with  my  soul,  that  only  death  can  part  them."  From 
this  it  was  apparent  to  the  Princess  that  her  fine  enterprise 
was  verging  towards  shipwreck  ;  wherefore  she  adopted  a 
heroical  expedient,  undoubtedly  of  far  more  certain  effect 
than  our  animal  magnetism,  with  all  its  renowned  virtues ; 
she  unveiled  her  face.  There  stood  she,  in  the  full  radiance 
of  beauty,  like  the  Sun  when  he  first  raised  his  head  from 
Chaos  to  hurl  his  rays  over  the  gloomy  Earth.  Soft  blushes 
overspread  her  cheeks,  and  higher  purple  glowed  upon  her 
lips  ;  two  beautifully  curved  arches,  on  which  love  was 
sporting  like  the  many-colored  Iris  on  the  rainbow,  shaded 
her  spirit-speaking  eyes ;  and  two  golden  tresses  kissed  each 
other  on  her  lily  breast.  The  Count  was  astonished  and 
speechless  ;  the  Princess  addressed  him,  and  said  : 

"See,  Bostangi,  whether  this  form  pleases  thy  eyes, 
and  whether  it  deserves  the  sacrifice  which  I  require  of 
thee." 

"  It  is  the  form  of  an  Angel,"  answered  he,  with  looks 
of  the   highest   rapture,  "  and   deserves  to  shine,  encircled 


MELECHSALA.  195 

with  a  glory,  in  the  courts  of  the  Christian  Heaven,  com- 
pared with  which,  the  delights  of  the  Prophet's  Paradise 
are  empty  shadows." 

These  words,  spoken  with  warmth  and  visible  conviction, 
found  free  enterance  into  the  open  heart  of  the  Princess; 
especially,  the  glory,  it  appeared  to  her,  must  be  a  sort  of 
head-dress  that  would  sit  not  ill  upon  the  face.  Her  quick 
fancy  fastened  on  this  idea,  which  she  asked  to  have  ex- 
plained ;  and  the  Count  with  all  eagerness  embraced  this 
opportunity  of  painting  the  Christian  Heaven  to  her  as 
charming  as  he  possibly  could;  he  chose  the  loveliest  images 
his  mind  would  suggest ;  and  spoke  with  as  much  confi- 
dence as  if  he  had  descended  directly  from  the  place  on  a 
mission  to  the  Princess.  Now,  as  it  has  pleased  the  Proph- 
et to  endow  the  fair  sex  with  very  scanty  expectations  in 
the  other  world,  our  apostolic  preacher  failed  the  less  in 
his  intentions;  though  it  cannot  be  asserted  that  he  was 
preeminently  qualified  for  the  missionary  duty.  But  wheth- 
er it  were  that  Heaven  itself  favored  the  work  of  conversion, 
or  that  the  foreign  taste  of  the  Princess  extended  to  the 
spiritual  conceptions  of  the  Western  nations,  or  that  the 
person  of  this  Preacher  to  the  Heathen  mixed  in  the  effect, 
certain  it  is  she  was  all  ear,  and  would  have  listened  to  her 
pedagogue  with  pleasure  for  many  hours  longer,  had  not 
the  approach  of  night  cut  short  their  lesson.  For  the 
present,  she  hastily  dropped  her  veil,  and  retired  to  the 
Seraglio. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  the  children  of  princes  are 
always  very  docile,  and  make  giant  steps  in  every  branch  of 
profitable  knowledge,  as  our  Journals  often  plainly  enough 
testify ;  while  the  other  citizens  of  this  world  must  content 
themselves  with  dwarf  steps.  It  was  not  surprising,  there- 
fore, that  the  Sultan  of  Egypt's  daughter  had  in  a  short 
space  mastered  the  whole  synopsis  of  Church  doctrine  as 


196 


MUSAEUS. 


completely  as  her  teacher  could  impart  it,  bating  a  few 
heresies,  which,  in  his  inacquaintance  with  the  delicate 
shades  of  faith,  he  had  undesignedly  mingled  with  it.  Nor 
did  this  acquisition  remain  a  dead  letter  with  her;  it  awak- 
ened the  most  zealous  wish  for  proselytizing.  According- 
ly, the  plan  of  the  Princess  had  now  in  so  far  altered,  that 
she  no  longer  insisted  on  converting  the  Count,  but  rather 
felt  inclined  to  let  herself  be  converted  by  him  ;  and  this 
not  only  in  regard  to  unity  in  faith,  but  also  to  the  purposed 
unity  in  love.  The  whole  question  now  was,  by  what 
means  this  intention  could  be  realized.  She  took  counsel 
with  Bostangi,  he  with  the  mettled  Kurt,  in  their  nocturnal 
deliberations  on  this  weighty  matter;  and  the  latter  voted 
distinctly  to  strike  the  iron  while  it  was  hot ;  to  inform  the 
fair  proselyte  of  the  Count's  rank  and  birth  ;  propose  to  her 
to  run  away  with  him;  instantly  to  cross  the  water  for  the 
European  shore  ;  and  live  together  in  Thuringia  as  Christian 
man  and  wife. 

The  Count  clapped  loud  applause  to  this  well-grounded 
scheme  of  his  wise  Squire  ;  it  was  as  if  the  mettled  Kurt 
had  read  it  in  his  master's  eyes.  Whether  the  fulfilment 
of  it  might  be  clogged  with  difficulties  or  not  was  a  point 
not  taken  into  view  in  the  first  fire  of  the  romantic  project. 
Love  removes  all  mountains,  overleaps  walls  and  trenches, 
bounds  across  abyss  and  chasm,  and  steps  the  barrier  of 
a  city  as  lightly  as  it  does  a  straw.  At  the  next  lecture, 
the  Count  disclosed  the  plan  to  his  beloved  catechumen. 

"Thou  reflection  of  the  Holy  Virgin,"  said  he,  "chosen 
of  Heaven  from  an  outcast  people,  to  gain  the  victory  over 
prejudice  and  error,  and  acquire  a  lot  and  inheritance  in 
the  Abodes  of  Felicity,  hast  thou  the  courage  to  forsake  thy 
native  country,  then  prepare  for  speedy  flight.  I  will  guide 
thee  to  Rome,  where  dwells  the  Porter  of  Heaven,  St.  Pe- 
ter's deputy,  to  whom  are  committed  the  keys  of  Heaven's- 


MELECHSALA. 


197 


gate ;  that  he  may  receive  thee  into  the  bosom  of  the 
Church,  and  bless  the  covenant  of  our  love.  Fear  not  that 
thy  father's  potent  arm  may  reach  us  ;  every  cloud  above 
our  heads  will  be  a  ship  manned  with  angelic  hosts,  with 
diamond  shields  and  flaming  swords  ;  invisible  indeed  to 
mortal  eye,  but  armed  with  heavenly  might,  and  appointed 
to  watch  and  guard  thee.  Nor  will  I  conceal  any  longer, 
that  I  am,  by  birth  and  fortune,  all  that  the  Sultan's  favor 
could  make  me  ;  a  Count,  that  is,  a  Bey  born,  who  rules 
over  land  and  people.  The  limits  of  my  lordship  include 
towns  and  villages,  palaces  also,  and  strongholds.  Knights 
and  squires  obey  me  ;  horses  and  carriages  stand  ready  for 
my  service.  In  my  native  land,  thou  thyself,  enclosed  by 
no  walls  of  a  seraglio,  shalt  live  and  rule  in  freedom  as  a 
queen." 

This  oration  of  the  Count  the  Princess  thought  a  message 
from  above ;  she  entertained  no  doubts  of  his  truth ;  and  it 
seemed  to  please  her  that  the  Ring-dove  was  to  nestle,  not 
beside  a  Linnet,  but  beside  a  bird  of  the  family  of  the  Eagle. 
Her  warm  fancy  was  filled  with  such  sweet  anticipations, 
that  she  consented,  with  all  the  alacrity  of  the  Children  of 
Israel,  to  forsake  the  land  of  Egypt,  as  if  a  new  Canaan,  in 
another  quarter  of  the  world,  had  been  waiting  her  beyond 
the  sea.  Confident  in  the  protection  of  the  unseen  life- 
guard promised  to  her,  she  would  have  followed  her  con- 
ductor from  the  precincts  of  the  Palace  forthwith,  had  he 
not  instructed  her  that  many  preparations  were  required, 
before  the  great  enterprise  could  be  engaged  in  with  any 
hope  of  a  happy  issue. 

Among  all  privateering  transactions  by  sea  or  land,  there 

is  none   more  ticklish,  or  combined   with  greater  difficulties, 

than  that  of  kidnapping  the  Grand  Seignior's  favorite  from 

his  arms.     Such  a   masterstroke  could  only  be  imagined  by 

17* 


198  MUSAEUS. 

the  teeming  fancy  of  a  W*z*l,t  nor  could  any  but  a  Kaker- 
lak  achieve  it.  Yet  the  undertaking  of  Count  Ernst  of  Glei- 
chen  to  carry  off  the  Sultan  of  Egypt's  daughter  was  en- 
vironed with  no  fewer  difficulties;  and  as  these  two  heroes 
come,  to  a  certain  extent,  into  competition  in  this  matter,  we 
must  say  that  the  adventure  of  the  Count  was  infinitely 
bolder,  seeing  everything  proceeded  merely  by  the  course 
of  Nature,  and  no  serviceable  Fairy  put  a  finger  in  the  pie  ; 
nevertheless,  the  result  of  both  these  corresponding  enter- 
prises, in  the  one  as  well  as  in  the  other,  came  about  entirely 
to  the  wish  of  parties.  The  Princess  filled  her  jewel-box 
sufficiently  with  precious  stones  ;  changed  her  royal  garment 
with  a  Kaftan  ;  and  one  evening,  under  the  safe-conduct  of 
her  beloved,  his  trusty  Squire,  and  the  phlegmatic  Water- 
drawer,  glided  forth  from  the  Palace  into  the  Garden,  unob- 
served, to  enter  on  her  far  journey  to  the  West,  Her  ab- 
sence could  not  long  remain  concealed  ;  her  women  sought 
her,  as  the  proverb  runs,  like  a  lost  pin  ;  and  as  she  did  not 
come  to  light,  the  alarm  in  the  Seraglio  became  boundless. 
Hints  here  and  there  had  already  been  dropped,  and  sur- 
mises made,  about  the  private  audiences  of  the  Bostangi ; 
supposition  and  fact  were  strung  together ;  and  the  whole 
produced,  in  sooth,  no  row  of  pearls,  but  the  horrible  dis- 
covery of  the  real  nature  of  the  case.  The  Divan  of  Dames 
had  nothing  for  it  but  to  send  advice  of  the  occurrence  to 
the  higher  powers.  Father  Sultan,  whom  the  virtuous  Mel- 
echsala,  everything  considered,  might  have  spared  this  pang, 
and  avoided  flying  her  country  to  make  purchase  of  a  glory, 
demeaned  himself  at  this  intelligence  like  an  infuriated  lion, 
who  shakes  his  brown  mane  with  dreadful  bellowing,  when, 
by  the  uproar  of  the  hunt,  and   the  baying  of  the   hounds, 

t  J.  K.   Wetzel,   author  of  some    plays  and   novels;    among  the 
latter,  of  Kakerlak.  —  Ed. 


MELECHSALA.  199 

he  is  frightened  from  his  den.  He  swore  by  the  Prophet's 
beard  that  he  would  utterly  destroy  every  living  soul  in  the 
Seraglio,  if  at  sunrise  the  Princess  were  not  again  in  her 
father's  power.  The  Mameluke  guard  had  to  mount,  and 
gallop  towards  the  four  winds,  in  chase  of  the  fugitives,  by 
every  road  from  Cairo  ;  and  a  thousand  oars  were  lash- 
ing the  broad  back  of  the  Nile,  in  case  she  might  have 
taken  a  passage  by  water. 

Under  such  efforts,  to  elude  the  far-stretching  arm  of  the 
Sultan  was  impossible,  unless  the  Count  possessed  the  secret 
of  rendering  himself  and  his  travelling  party  invisible,  or 
the  miraculous  gift  of  smiting  all  Egypt  with  blindness.  But 
of  these  talents  neither  had  been  lent  him.  Only  the  met- 
tled Kurt  had  taken  certain  measures,  which,  in  regard  to 
their  effect,  might  supply  the  place  of  miracles.  He  had 
rendered  his  flying  caravan  invisible,  by  the  darkness  of  an 
unlighted  cellar  in  the  house  of  AduIIam  the  sudorific  He- 
brew. This  Jewish  Hermes  did  not  satisfy  himself  with 
practising  the  healing  art  to  good  advantage,  but  drew  profit 
likewise  from  the  gift  which  he  had  received  by  inheritance 
from  his  fathers  ;  and  thus  honored  Mercury  in  all  his  three 
qualities,  of  Patron  to  Doctors,  to  Merchants,  and  to  Thieves. 
He  drove  a  great  trade  in  spiceries  and  herbs  with  the  Ve- 
netians, from  which  he  had  acquired  much  wealth  ;  and  he 
disdained  no  branch  of  business  whereby  anything  was  to 
be  made.  This  worthy  Israelite,  who,  for  money,  and  mon- 
ey's worth,  stood  ready,  without  investigating  moral  tend- 
encies, for  any  sort  of  deed,  the  trusty  Squire  had  prevailed 
on,  by  a  jewel  from  the  casket  of  the  Princess,  to  undertake 
the  transport  of  the  Count,  whose  rank  and  intention  were 
not  concealed  from  him,  with  three  servants,  to  a  Venetian 
ship  that  was  loading  at  Alexandria  ;  but  it  had  prudently 
been  hidden  from  him,  that,  in  the  course  of  this  contraband 
transaction,   he  must   smuggle    out   his   master's   daughter. 


200  MUSAEUS. 

On  first  inspecting  his  cargo,  the  figure  of  the  fair  youth 
struck  him  somewhat ;  but  he  thought  no  ill  of  it,  and  took 
him  for  a  page  of  the  Count's.  Ere  long  the  report  of  the 
Princess  Melechsala's  disappearance  sounded  over  all  the 
city  ;  then  Adullam's  eyes  were  opened  ;  deadly  terror 
took  possession  of  his  heart,  so  that  his  grey  beard  began  to 
stir,  and  he  wished  with  all  his  soul  that  his  hands  had  been 
free  of  this  perilous  concern.  But  now  it  was  too  late  ;  his 
own  safety  required  him  to  summon  all  his  cunning,  and 
conduct  this  break-neck  business  to  a  happy  end.  In  the 
first  place,  he  laid  his  subterranean  lodgers  under  rigorous 
quarantine;  and  then,  after  the  sharpest  of  the  search  was 
over,  the  hope  of  finding  the  Princess  considerably  faded, 
and  the  zeal  in  seeking  for  her  cooled,  he  packed  the  whole 
caravan  neatly  up  in  four  bales  of  herbs,  put  them  on  board 
a  Nile-boat,  and  sent  them  with  a  proper  invoice,  under  God's 
guidance,  safe  and  sound  to  Alexandria  ;  where,  so  soon  as 
the  Venetian  had  gained  the  open  sea,  they  were  liberated, 
all  and  sundry,  from  their  strait  confinement  in  the  herb- 
sacks* 

Whether  the  celestial  body-guard,  with  diamond  shields 
and  flaming  swords,  posted  on  a  gorgeous  train  of  clouds, 
did  follow  the  swift  ship,  could  not  now,  as  they  were  invis- 
ible, be  properly  substantiated  in  a  court  of  justice ;  yet 
there  are  not  wanting  symptoms  in  the  matter  which  might 
lead  to  some  such  conjecture.  All  the  four  winds  of  Heaven 
seemed  to  have  combined  to  make  the  voyage  prosperous  ; 
the  adverse   held   their  breath  ;  and   the   favorable  blew  so 

*  The  invention  of  travelling  in  a  sack  was  several  times  em- 
ployed during  the  Crusades.  Dietrich  the  Hard-bested,  Markgraf 
of  Meissen  (Misnia),  returned  frem  Palestine  to  his  hereditary  pos- 
sessions, under  this  incognito,  and  so  escaped  the  snares  of  the 
Emperor  Henry  VI.,  who  had  an  eye  to  the  productive  mines  of 
Freyberg.  —  M. 


MELECHSALA.  201 

gaily  in  the  sails,  that  the  vessel  ploughed  the  soft-playing 
billows  with  the  speed  of  an  arrow.  The  friendly  moon 
was  stretching  her  horns  from  the  clouds  for  the  second 
time,  when  the  Venetian,  glad  in  heart,  ran  into  moorings 
in  the  harbor  of  his  native  town. 

Countess  Ottilia's  watchful  spy  was  still  at  Venice  ;  undis- 
mayed by  the  fruitless  toil  of  vain  inquiries,  from  continuing 
his  diets  of  examination,  and  diligently  questioning  all  pas- 
sengers from  the  Levant.  He  was  at  his  post  when  the 
Count,  with  the  fair  Melechsala,  came  on  land.  His  master's 
physiognomy  was  so  stamped  upon  his  memory,  that  he 
would  have  undertaken  to  discover  it  among  a  thousand  un- 
known faces.  Nevertheless  the  foreign  garb,  and  the  fin- 
ger of  Time,  which  in  seven  years  produces  many  changes, 
made  him  for  some  moments  doubtful.  To  be  certain  of 
his  object,  he  approached  the  stranger's  suite,  made  up  to 
the  trusty  Squire,  and  asked  him  :  "  Comrade,  whence  come 
you  ?  " 

The  mettled  Kurt  rejoiced  to  meet  a  countryman,  and 
hear  the  sound  of  his  mother-tongue  ;  but  saw  no  profit  in 
submitting  his  concerns  to  the  questioning  of  a  stranger,  and 
answered  briefly  :  "  From  sea." 

"  Who  is  the  gentleman  thou  followest  ?  " 

a  My  master." 

"  From  what  country  come  you  ?  " 

"  From  the  East." 

"  Whither  are  you  going  ?  " 

"  To  the  West." 

"  To  what  province  ?  " 

u  To  our  home." 

"  Where  is  it  ?  " 

11  Miles  of  road  from  this." 

"  What  is  thy  name  ?  " 

u  Start-the-game,  that  is  my  name.      Strike-for-a-word, 


202  MUSAEUS. 

people  call  my  sword.  Sorrow-of-life,  so  hight  my  wife. 
Rise,  Lig-a-bed,  she  cries  to  her  maid.  Still-at-a-stand, 
that  is  my  man.  Hobbletehoy,  I  christened  my  boy.  Lank- 
i'-the-bag,  I  scold  my  nag.  Shamble-and-stalk,  we  call  his 
walk.  Trot-i'-the-bog,  I  whistle  my  dog.  Saw-ye-that,  so 
jumps  my  cat.  Snug-in-the-rug,  he  is  my  bug.  Now  thou 
knowest  me,  with  wife  and  child,  and  all  my  household." 

"  Thou  seemest  to  me  to  be  a  queer  fellow." 

"  I  am  no  fellow  at  all,  for  I  follow  no  handicraft." 

"  Answer  me  one  question." 

"  Let  us  hear  it." 

"  Hast  thou  any  news  of  Count  Ernst  of  Gleichen  from 
the  East  ?  " 

"  Wherefore  dost  thou  ask  ?  " 

"Therefore." 

"  Twiddle,  twaddle  !   Wherefore,  therefore  !  V 

"  Because  I  am  sent  into  all  the  world  by  the  Countess 
Ottilia  his  wife,  to  get  her  word  whether  her  husband  is  still 
living,  and  in  what  corner  of  the  Earth  he  may  be  found." 

This  answer  put  the  mettled  Kurt  into  some  perplexity  ; 
and  turned  him  to  another  key.  "  Wait  a  little,  neighbor," 
said  he  ;  "  perhaps  my  master  knows  about  the  thing." 
Thereupon  he  ran  to  the  Count,  and  whispered  the  tidings 
in  his  ear.  The  feeling  they  awoke  was  complex  ;  made 
up  in  equal  proportions  of  joy  and  consternation.  Count 
Ernst  perceived  that  his  dream,  or  the  interpretation  of  it, 
had  misled  him  ;  and  that  the  conceit  of  marrying  his  fair 
travelling  companion  might  easily  be  baulked.  On  the  spur 
of  the  moment  he  knew  not  how  he  should  get  out  of  this 
embroiled  affair;  meanwhile,  the  desire  to  learn  how  mat- 
ters stood  at  home  outweighed  all  scruples.  He  beckoned 
to  the  emissary,  whom  he  soon  recognised  for  his  old  valet  ; 
and  who  wetted  with  joyful  tears  the  hand  of  his  recovered 
master,  and  told  in  many  words  what  jubilee  the  Countess 


MELECHSALA.  203 

would  make,  when  she  received  the  happy  message  of  her 
husband's  return.  The  Count  took  him  with  the  rest  to  the 
inn  ;  and  there  engaged  in  earnest  meditation  on  the  singular 
state  of  his  heart,  and  considered  deeply  what  was  to  be 
done  with  his  engagements  to  the  fair  Saracen.  Without 
loss  of  time  the  watchful  spy  was  despatched  to  the  Coun- 
tess with  a  letter,  containing  a  true  statement  of  the  Count's 
fortunes  in  slavery  at  Cairo,  and  of  his  deliverance  by  means 
of  the  Sultan's  daughter  ;  how  she  had  abandoned  throne 
and  country  for  his  sake,  under  the  condition  that  he  was  to 
marry  her,  which  he  himself,  deceived  by  a  dream,  had 
promised.  By  this  narrative  he  meant  not  only  to  prepare 
his  wife  for  a  participatress  in  her  marriage  rights  ;  but  also 
endeavored,  in  the  course  of  it,  by  many  sound  arguments, 
to  gain  her  own  consent  to  the  arrangement. 

Countess  Ottilia  was  standing  at  the  window  in  her  mourn- 
ing weeds,  as  the  news-bringer  for  the  last  time  gave  his 
breathless  horse  the  spur,  to  hasten  it  up  the  steep  Castle-  . 
path.  Her  sharp  eye  recognised  him  in  the  distance ;  and 
he  too,  being  nothing  of  a  blinkard,  a  class  of  persons  very 
rare  in  the  days  of  the  Crusades,  recognised  the  Countess 
also  ;  raised  the  letter-bag  aloft  over  his  head,  and  waved  it 
like  a  standard  in  token  of  good  news  ;  and  the  lady  under- 
stood his  signal,  as  well  as  if  the  Hanau  Synthemato graph 
had  been  on  duty  there.  "  Hast  thou  found  him,  the  hus- 
band of  my  heart  ?  "  cried  she,  as  he  approached.  "  Where 
lingers  he,  that  I  may  rise  -and  wipe  the  sweat  from  his  brow, 
and  let  him  rest  in  my  faithful  arms  from  his  toilsome  jour- 
neying ?  " —  "Joy  to  you,  my  lady, ';  said  the  post ;  "  his 
lordship  is  well.  I  found  him  in  the  Port  of  Venice,  from 
which  he  sends  you  this  under  his  hand  and  seal,  to  announce 
his  arrival  himself."  The  Countess  could  not  hastily  enough 
undo  the  seal  ;  and  at  sight  of  her  husband's  hand,  she  felt 
as  if  the  breath  of  life  were    coming   back  to  her.     Three 


204  MUSAEUS. 

times  she  pressed  the  letter  to  her  beating  heart,  and  three 
times  touched  it  with  her  languishing  lips.  A  shower  of 
joyful  tears  streamed  over  the  parchment,  as  she  began 
reading;  but  the  farther  she  read,  the  drops  fell  the  slower, 
and  before  the  reading  was  completed,  the  fountain  of  tears 
had  dried  up  altogether. 

The  contents  of  the  letter  could  not  all  interest  the  good 
lady  equally  ;  her  husband's  proposed  partition  treaty  of  his 
heart  had  not  the  happiness  to  meet  with  her  approval. 
Greatly  as  the  spirit  of  partition  has  acquired  the  upper 
hand  nowadays,  so  that  parted  love  and  parted  provinces 
have  become  the  device  of  our  century ;  these  things  were 
little  to  the  taste  of  old  times,  when  every  heart  had  its  own 
key,  and  a  masterkey  that  would  open  several  was  regarded 
as  a  scandalous  thief-picklock.  The  intolerance  of  the 
Countess  in  this  point  was  at  least  a  proof  of  her  unvarnished 
love.  "  Ah !  that  doleful  Crusade,"  cried  she,  "  is  the 
cause  of  it  all.  I  lent  the  Holy  Church  a  Loaf,  of  which 
the  Heathen  have  eaten  ;  and  nothing  but  a  Crust  of  it  re- 
turns to  me."  A  vision  of  the  night,  however,  soothed  her 
troubled  mind,  and  gave  her  whole  view  of  the  affair  another 
aspect.  She  dreamed  that  there  came  two  pilgrims  from 
the  Holy  Sepulchre  up  the  winding  Castle-road,  and  begged 
a  lodging,  which  she  kindly  granted  them.  One  of  them 
threw  off  his  cloak,  and  behold,  it  was  the  Count  her  lord  ! 
She  joyfully  embraced  him,  and  was  in  raptures  at  his  return. 
The  children  too  came  in,  and  he  clasped  them  in  his  pater- 
nal arms,  pressed  them  to  his  heart,  and  praised  their  looks 
and  growth.  Meanwhile  his  companion  laid  aside  his 
travelling  pouch  ;  drew  from  it  golden  chains  and  precious 
strings  of  jewelry,  and  hung  them  round  the  necks  of  the 
little  ones,  who  showed  delighted  with  these  glittering  pre- 
sents. The  Countess  was  herself  surprised  at  this  munifi- 
cence, and  asked  the  stranger  who  he   was.     He  answered  : 


MELECHSALA.  205 

"I  am  the  Angel  Raphael,  the  guide  of  the  loving,  and  have 
brought  thy  husband  to  thee  out  of  foreign  lands."  His 
pilgrim  garments  melted  away  ;  and  a  shining  angel  stood 
before  her,  in  an  azure  robe,  with  two  golden  wings  on  his 
shoulders.  Thereupon  she  awoke,  and,  in  the  absence  of 
an  Egyptian  Sibyl,  herself  interpreted  the  dream  according 
to  her  best  skill ;  and  found  so  many  points  of  similarity 
between  the  Angel  Raphael  and  the  Princess  Melechsala, 
that  she  doubted  not  the  latter  had  been  shadowed  forth  to 
her  in  vision  under  the  figure  of  the  former.  At  the  same 
time  she  took  into  consideration  the  fact,  that,  without  her 
help,  the  Count  could  scarcely  ever  have  escaped  from 
slavery.  And  as  it  behoves  the  owner  of  a  lost  piece  of 
property  to  deal  generously  with  the  finder,  who  might  have 
kept  it  all  to  himself,  she  no  longer  hesitated  to  resolve  on 
the  surrender.  The  water-bailiff,  well  rewarded  for  his 
watchfulness,  was  therefore  despatched  forthwith  back  into 
Italy,  with  the  formal  consent  of  the  Countess  for  her  hus- 
band to  complete  the  trefoil  of  his  marriage  without  loss  of 
time. 

The  only  question  now  was,  whether  Father  Gregory  at 
Rome  would  give  his  benediction  to  this  matrimonial  ano- 
maly ;  and  be  persuaded,  for  the  Count's  sake,  to  refound, 
by  the  word  of  his  mouth,  the  substance,  form,  and  essence 
of  the  Sacrament  of  Marriage.  The  pilgrimage  accordingly 
set  forth  from  Venice  to  Rome,  where  the  Princess  Me- 
lechsala solemnly  abjured  the  Koran,  and  entered  into  the 
bosom  of  the  Church.  At  this  spiritual  conquest  the  Holy 
Father  testified  as  much  delight  as  if  the  kingdom  of  Anti- 
christ had  been  entirely  destroyed,  or  reduced  under  sub- 
jection to  the  Romish  chair  ;  and  after  the  baptism,  on  which 
occasion  she  had  changed  her  Saracenic  name  for  the  more 
orthodox  Angelica,  he  caused  a  pompous  Te-deum  to  be 
celebrated  in  St.  Peter's.     These  happy  aspects  Count  Ernst 

vol.  i.  18 


206 


MUSAEUS. 


endeavored  to  improve  for  his  purpose,  before  the  Pope's 
good-humor  should  evaporate.  He  brought  his  matrimonial 
concern  to  light  without  delay  ;  but,  alas  !  no  sooner  asked 
than  rejected.  The  conscience  of  St.  Peter's  Vicar  was  so 
tender  in  this  case,  that  he  reckoned  it  a  greater  heresy  to 
advocate  triplicity  in  marriage  than  Tritheism  itself.  Many 
plausible  arguments  as  the  Count  brought  forward  to  accom- 
plish an  exception  from  the  common  rule  in  his  own  favor, 
they  availed  no  jot  in  moving  the  exemplary  Pope  to  wink 
with  one  eve  of  his  conscience,  and  vouchsafe  the  petitioned 
dispensation;  a  result  which  cut  Count  Ernst  to  the  heart. 
His  sly  counsel,  the  mettled  Kurt,  had  in  the  mean  time 
struck  out  a  bright  expedient  for  accomplishing  the  marriage 
of  his  master  with  the  fair  convert,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Pope  and  Christendom  in  general  ;  only  he  had  not  risked 
disclosing  it,  lest  it  might  cost  him  his  master's  favor.  Yet 
at  last  he  found  his  opportunity,  and  put  the  matter  into 
words.  "  Dear  master,"'  said  he,  "  do  not  vex  yourself  so 
much  about  the  Pope's  perverseness.  If  you  cannot  get 
round  him  on  the  one  side,  you  must  try  him  on  the  other  ; 
there  are  more  roads  to  the  wood  than  one.  If  the  Holy 
Father  has  too  tender  a  conscience  to  permit  your  taking 
two  wives,  then  it  is  fair  for  you  also  to  have  a  tender  con- 
science, though  you  are  no  priest  but  a  layman.  Conscience 
is  a  cloak  that  covers  every  hole,  and  has  withal  the  quality 
that  it  can  be  turned  according  to  the  wind  ;  at  present, 
when  the  wind  is  cross,  you  must  put  the  cloak  on  the  other 
shoulder.  Examine  whether  you  are  not  related  to  the 
Countess  Ottilia  within  the  prohibited  degrees  ;  if  so,  as 
will  surely  be  the  case,  if  you  have  a  tender  conscience, 
then  the  game  is  your  own.  Get  a  divorce ;  and  who 
the  deuce  can  hinder  you  from  wedding  the  Princess 
then  ?  " 

The  Count  had  listened  to  his  Squire  till  the  sense  of  his 


MELECHSALA. 


207 


oration  was  completely  before  him  ;  then  he  answered  it 
with  two  words,  shortly  and  clearly  :  "  Peace,  Dog  ! "  In 
the  same  moment,  the  mettled  Kurt  found  himself  lying  at 
full  length  without  the  door,  and  seeking  for  a  tooth  or  two 
which  had  dropped  from  him  in  this  rapid  transit.  "  Ah  ! 
the  precious  tooth,"  cried  he  from  without,  "  has  been  sacri- 
ficed to  my  faithful  zeal !  n  This  tooth  monologue  reminded 
the  Count  of  his  dream.  "Ah!  the  cursed  tooth,"  cried 
he  from  within,  "which  I  dreamed  of  losing,  has  been  the 
cause  of  all  this  mischief!"  His  heart,  between  self-re- 
proaches for  unfaithfulness  to  his  amiable  wife,  and  for  pro- 
hibited love  to  the  charming  Angelica,  kept  wavering  like  a 
bell,  which  yields  a  sound  on  both  sides,  when  set  in  motion. 
Still  more  than  the  flame  of  his  passion,  the  fire  of  indigna- 
tion burnt  and  gnawed  him,  now  that  he  saw  the  visible 
impossibility  of  ever  keeping  his  word  to  the  Princess,  and 
taking  her  in  wedlock.  All  which  distresses,  by  the  way, 
led  him  to  the  just  experimental  conclusion,  that  a  parted 
heart  is  not  the  most  desirable  of  things  ;  and  that  the  lover, 
in  these  circumstances,  but  too  much  resembles  the  Ass 
Baldwin  between  his  two  bundles  of  hay. 

In  such  a  melancholy  posture  of  affairs,  he  lost  his  jovial^ 
humor  altogether,  and  wore  the  aspect  of  an  atrabiliarr 
whom  in  bad  weather  the  atmosphere  oppresses  till  the 
spleen  is  like  to  crush  the  soul  out  of  his  body.  Princess 
Angelica  observed  that  her  lover's  looks  were  no  longer  as 
yesterday,  and  ere-yesterday  ;  it  grieved  her  soft  heart,  and 
moved  her  to  resolve  on  making  trial  whether  she  should 
not  be  more  successful,  if  she  took  the  dispensation  business 
in  her  own  hand.  She  requested  audience  of  the  conscien- 
tious Gregory  ;  and  appeared  before  him  closely  veiled,  ac- 
cording to  the  fashion  of  her  country.  No  Roman  eye  had 
yet  seen  her  face,  except  the  priest  who  baptized  her.  His 
Holiness  received  the  new-born  daughter  of  the  Church  with 


208  MUSAEUS. 

all  suitable  respect ;  offered  her  the   palm  of  his  right  hand 
to  kiss,  and   not  his  perfumed  slipper.     The  fair  stranger 
raised    her   veil  a   little   to   touch   the  sacred   hand  with  her 
lips  ;  then  opened  her  mouth,  and  clothed   her.  petition  in  a 
touching  address.     Yet  this   insinuation  through  the  Papal 
ear  seemed  not  sufficiently  to  know  the  interior  organization 
of  the  Head  of  the   Church  ;  for  instead  of  taking  the  road 
to  the  heart,  it  passed  through  the  other  ear  out  into  the  air. 
Father  Gregory   expostulated  long   with  the  lovely  suppli- 
cant; and    imagined  he   had   found   a  method   for  in  some 
degree  contenting   her  desire  of  union  with   a  bridegroom, 
without  offence  to   the   ordinations  of  the  Church  ;  he  pro- 
posed to  her  a  spiritual   wedlock,  if  she  could   resolve  on  a 
slight  change  of  the  veil,  the  Saracenic  for  the  Nun's.     This 
proposal  suddenly  awakened    in  the   Princess  such  a  horror 
at  veils  that   she   directly  tore  away  her  own  ;  sank   full  of 
despair   before   the   holy  footstool,  and   with   uplifted  hands 
and   tearful   eyes,    conjured    the   venerable    Father   by    his 
sacred  slipper,  not  to  do  violence  on  her  heart,  and  constrain 
her  to  bestow  it  elsewhere. 

The  sight  of  her  beauty  was  more  eloquent  than  her  lips  ; 
it  enraptured  all  present ;  and  the  tear  which  gathered  in 
her  heavenly  eye  fell  like  a  burning  drop  of  naphtha  on 
the  Holy  Father's  heart,  and  kindled  the  small  fraction  of 
earthly  tinder  that  still  lay  hid  there,  and  warmed  it  into 
sympathy  for  the  petitioner.  "  Rise,  beloved  daughter," 
said  he,  "  and  weep  not !  What  has  been  determined  in 
Heaven  shall  be  fulfilled  in  thee  on  Earth.  In  three  days 
thou  shalt  know  whether  this  thy  first  prayer  to  the  Church 
can  be  granted  by  that  gracious  Mother,  or  must  be  denied." 
Thereupon  he  summoned  an  assembly  of  all  the  Casuists 
in  Rome  ;  had  a  loaf  of  bread  and  a  bottle  of  wine  distri- 
buted to  each  ;  and  locked  them  up  in  the  Rotunda,  with 
the   warning  that  no   one  of  them  should  be  let  out  again, 


MELECHSALA. 


209 


till  the  question  had  been  determined  unanimously.  So 
long  as  the  loaves  and  wine  held  out,  the  disputes  were  so 
violent,  that  all  the  Saints,  had  they  been  convened  in  the 
church,  could  not  have  argued  with  greater  noise.  But  so 
soon  as  the  Digestive  Faculty  began  to  have  a  voice  in  the 
meeting,  he  was  listened  to  with  the  deepest  attention,  and 
happily  he  spoke  in  favor  of  the  Count,  who  had  got  a  sump- 
tuous feast  made  ready  for  the  entertainment  of  the  casuis- 
tic Doctors,  when  the  Papal  seal  should  be  removed  from 
their  door.  The  Bull  of  Dispensation  was  drawn  out  in 
proper  form  of  law  ;  in  furtherance  of  which  the  fair  An- 
gelica had,  not  at  all  reluctantly,  inflicted  a  determined  cut 
upon  the  treasures  of  Egypt.  Father  Gregory  bestowed  his 
benediction  on  the  noble  pair,  and  sent  them  away  betrothed. 
They  lest  no  time  in  leaving  Peter's  Patrimony  for  the  terri- 
tories of  the  Count,  to  celebrate  their  nuptials  on  arriv- 
ing. 

When  Count  Ernst,  on  this  side  the  Alps,  again  inhaled 
his  native  air,  and  felt  it  come  soft  and  kindly  round  his 
heart,  he  mounted  his  steed  ;  galloped  forward,  attended 
only  by  the  heavy  Groom,  and  left  the  Princess,  under  the 
escort  of  the  mettled  Kurt,  to  follow  him  by  easy  jour- 
neys. 

His  heart  beat  high  within  him,  when  he  saw  in  azure 
distance  the  three  towers  of  Gleichen.  He  meant  to  take  his 
gentle  Countess  by  surprise  ;  but  the  news  of  his  approach 
had  preceded  him,  as  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  ;  she  went 
forth  with  man  and  maid,  and  met  her  husband  a  furlong 
from  the  Castle,  in  a  pleasant  green,  which,  in  memory  of 
this  event,  is  called  the  Freudenthal,  or  Valley  of  Joy,  to 
this  day.  The  meeting  on  both  sides  was  as  trustful  and 
tender  as  if  no  partition  treaty  had  ever  been  thought  of;  for 
Countess  Ottilia  was  a  proper  pattern  of  the  pious  wife,  that 
obeys  without  commentary  the  marriage  precept  of  sub- 
18* 


210 


MUSAEUS. 


jecting  her  will  to  the  will  of  her  husband.  If  at  times 
there  did  arise  some  small  sedition  in  her  heart,  she  did 
not  on  the  instant  ring  the  alarm  bell  ;  but  she  shut  door 
and  window,  that  no  mortal  eye  might  look  in  and  see  what 
passed ;  and  then  summoned  the  rebel  Passion  to  the  bar 
of  Reason,  gave  it  over  in  custody  to  Prudence,  and  imposed 
on  herself  a  voluntary  penance. 

She  could  not  pardon  her  heart  for  having  murmured  at 
the  rival  sun  that  was  to  shine  beside  her  on  the  matrimo- 
nial horizon  ;  and  to  expiate  the  offence,  she  had  secretly 
commissioned  a  triple  bedstead,  with  stout  fir  posts,  painted 
green,  the  color  of  Hope  ;  and  a  round,  vaulted  tester,  in 
the  form  of  a  dome,  adorned  with  winged,  puffy-cheeked 
heads  of  angels.  On  the  silken  coverlet,  which  lay  for 
show  over  the  downy  quilts,  was  exhibited,  in  fine  embroid- 
ery, the  Angel  Raphael,  as  he  had  appeared  to  her  in 
vision,  beside  the  Count  in  pilgrim  weeds.  This  speaking 
proof  of  her  ready  matrimonial  complaisance  affected  her 
husband  to  the  soul.  He  clasped  her  to  his  breast,  and 
overpowered  her  with  kisses,  at  the  sight  of  this  arrangement 
for  the  completion  of  his  wedded  joys. 

"  Glorious  wife  !  "  cried  he  with  rapture,  "  this  temple 
of  love  exalts  thee  above  thousands  of  thy  sex ;  as  an 
honorable  memorial,  it  will  transmit  thy  name  to  future 
ages  ;  and  while  a  splinter  of  this  wood  remains,  husbands 
will  recount  to  their  wives  thy  exemplary  conduct." 

In  a  few  days  afterwards,  the  Princess  also  arrived  in 
safety,  and  was  received  by  the  Count  in  full  gala.  Ottilia 
came  to  meet  her  with  open  arms  and  heart,  and  conducted 
her  into  the  Palace,  as  the  partner  in  all  its  privileges.  The 
double  bridegroom  then  set  out  to  Erfurt,  for  the  Bishop  to 
perform  the  marriage  ceremony.  This  pious  prelate  was 
extremely  shocked  at  the  proposal,  and  signified  that  in  his 
diocese  no  such  scandal  could   be  tolerated.     But,  on  Count 


MELECHSALA.  211 

Ernst's  bringing  out  the  papal  dispensation,  signed  and 
sealed  in  due  form,  it  acted  as  a  lock  on  His  Reverence's 
lips;  though  his  doubling  looks,  and  shaking  of  the  head, 
still  indicated  that  the  Steersman  of  the  bark  of  the  uni- 
versal Church  had  bored  a  hole  in  the  keel,  which  bade 
fair  to  swamp  the  vessel,  and  send  it  to  the  bottom  of  the 
sea. 

The  nuptials  were  celebrated  with  becoming  pomp  and 
splendor;  Countess  Ottilia,  who  acted  as  mistress  of  the 
ceremonies,  had  invited  widely;  and  the  counts  and  knights, 
over  all  Thuringia,  far  and  wide,  came  crowding  to  assist 
at  this  unusual  wedding.  Before  the  Count  led  his  bride  to 
the  altar,  she  opened  her  jewel-box,  and  consigned  to  him 
all  its  treasures  that  remained  from  the  expenses  of  the 
dispensation,  as  a  dowry  ;  in  return  for  which,  he  conferred 
on  her  the  lands  of  Ehrenstein,  by  way  of  jointure.  The 
chaste  myrtle  twined  itself  about  the  golden  crown,  which 
latter  ornament  the  Sultan's  daughter,  as  a  testimony  of 
her  high  birth,  retained  through  life;  and  was,  in  conse- 
quence, invariably  named  the  Queen,  by  her  subjects,  and 
by  her  domestics  reverenced  and  treated  like  a  queen. 

If  any  of  my  readers  ever  purchased  for  himself,  for  fifty 
guineas,  the  costly  pleasure  of  resting  a  night  in  Doctor 
Graham's  Celestial  Bed  at  London,  he  may  form  some 
slender  conception  of  the  Count's  delight,  when  the  triple 
bed  at  Gleuchen  opened  its  elastic  bosom  to  receive  the 
twice-betrothed,  with  both  his  spouses.  Seven  days  long 
the  nuptial  festivities  continued  ;  and  the  Count  declared 
himself  richly  compensated  by  them  for  the  seven  dreary 
years  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  spend  in  the  Grated 
Tower  at  Grand  Cairo.  Nor  would  this  appear  to  have 
been  an  empty  compliment  on  his  part  to  his  two  faithful 
wives,  if  the  experimental  apophthegm  is  just,  that  a  single 
day  of  gladness  sweetens  into  oblivion  the  bitter  dole  and 
sorrow  of  a  troublous  year. 


212  MUSAEUS, 

Next  to  the  Count,  there  was  none  who  relished  this  ex- 
hilarating period  better  than  his  trusty  Squire,  the  mettled 
Kurt,  who,  in  the  well-stored  kitchen  and  cellar,  found  the 
elements  of  royal  cheer,  and  stoutly  emptied  the  cup  of  joy 
which  circulated  fast  among  the  servants  ;  while  the  full 
table  pricked  up  their  ears  as  he  opened  his  lips,  his  inner 
man  once  satisfied  with  good  things,  and  began  to  recount 
them  his  adventures.  But  when  the  Gleichic  economy  re- 
turned to  its  customary  frugal  routine,  he  requested  permis- 
sion to  set  out  for  Ordruff,  to  visit  his  kind  wife,  and  over- 
whelm her  with  joy  at  his  unexpected  return.  During  his 
long  absence,  he  had  constantly  maintained  a  rigorous  fidel- 
ity, and  he  now  longed  for  the  just  reward  of  so  exemplary 
a  walk  and  conversation.  Fancy  painted  to  his  mind's  eye 
the  image  of  his  virtuous  Rebecca  in  the  liveliest  colors  ; 
and  the  nearer  he  approached  the  walls  which  enclosed  her, 
the  brighter  grew  these  hues.  He  saw  her  stand  before  him 
in  the  charms  which  had  delighted  him  on  his  wedding-day  ; 
he  saw  how  excess  of  joy  at  his  happy  arrival  would  over- 
power her  spirits,  and  she  would  sink  in  speechless  rapture 
into  his  arms. 

Encircled  with  this  fair  retinue  of  dreams,  he  arrived  at 
the  gate  of  his  native  town,  without  observing  it,  till  the 
watchful  guardian  of  public  tranquillity  let  down  his  beam 
in  front  of  him,  and  questioned  the  stranger,  Who  he  was, 
what  business  had  brought  him  to  the  town,  and  whether  his 
intentions  were  peaceable  or  not  ?  The  mettled  Kurt  gave 
ready  answer  ;  and  now  rode  along  the  streets  at  a  soft  pace, 
lest  his  horse's  tramp  might  too  soon  betray  the  secret  of 
his  coming.  He  fastened  his  beast  to  the  door-ring,  and 
stole,  without  noise,  into  the  court  of  his  dwelling,  where 
the  old  chained  house-dog  first  received  him  with  joyful 
bark.  Yet  he  wondered  somewhat  at  the  sight  of  two  lively, 
chub-faced  children,  like  the  Angels  in  the  Gleichen   bed- 


MELECHSALA.  213 

tester,  frisking  to  and  fro  upon  the  area.  He  had  no  time 
to  speculate  on  the  phenomenon,  for  the  mistress  of  the 
house,  in  her  carefulness,  stept  out  of  doors  to  see  who  was 
there.  Alas  !  What  a  difference  between  ideal  and  orig- 
inal !  The  tooth  of  Time  had,  in  these  seven  years,  been 
mercilessly  busy  with  her  charms ;  yet  the  leading  features 
of  her  physiognomy  had  been  in  so  far  spared,  that  to  the 
eye  of  the  critic  she  was  still  recognizable,  like  the  primary 
stamp  of  a  worn  coin.  Joy  at  meeting  somewhat  veiled  this 
want  of  beauty  from  the  mettled  Kurt,  and  the  thought  that 
sorrow  for  his  absence  had  so  furrowed  the  smooth  face  of 
his  consort  put  him  into  a  sentimental  mood  ;  he  embraced 
her  with  great  cordiality,  and  said  :  "  Welcome,  dear  wife 
of  my  heart !  Forget  all  thy  sorrow.  See,  I  am  still  alive  ; 
thou  hast  got  me  back  !  " 

The  pious  Rebecca  answered  this  piece  of  tenderness  by 
a  heavy  thwack  on  the  short  ribs,  which  thwack  made  the 
mettled  Kurt  stagger  to  the  wall ;  then  raised  loud  shrieks, 
and  shouted  to  her  servants  for  help  against  violence, 
and  scolded  and  stormed  like  an  Infernal  Fury.  The 
loving  husband  excused  this  unloving  reception,  on  the 
score  of  his  virtuous  spouse's  delicacy,  which  his  bold 
kiss  of  welcome  had  offended,  she  not  knowing  who  he 
was ;  and  tore  his  lungs  with  bawling  to  undo  this  er- 
ror ;  but  his  preaching  was  to  deaf  ears,  and  he  soon 
found  that  there  was  no  misunderstanding  in  the  case. 
u  Thou  shameless  varlet,"  cried  she,  in  shrieking  treble, 
"  after  wandering  seven  long  years  up  and  down  the  world, 
following  thy  wicked  courses  with  other  women,  dost  thou 
think  that  I  will  take  thee  back  to  my  chaste  bed  ?  Off 
with  thee  !  Did  not  I  publicly  cite  thee  at  three  church  doors, 
and  wert  thou  not,  for  thy  contumacious  non-appearance, 
declared  to  be  dead  as  mutton  ?  Did  not  the  High  Court 
authorize   me  to  put  aside  my  widow's   chair,  and  marry 


214 


MUSAEUS. 


Burgermeister  Wipprecht  ?  Have  we  not  lived  six  years  as 
man  and  wife,  and  received  these  children  as  a  blessing  of 
our  wedlock?  And  now  comes  the  Marpeace  to  perplex 
my  house  !  Off  with  thee  !  Pack,  I  say,  this  instant,  or 
the  Amtmann  shall  crop  thy  ears,  and  put  thee  in  the  pillory, 
to  teach  such  vagabonds,  that  run  and  leave  their  poor  ten- 
der wives."  This  welcome  from  his  once-loved  helpmate 
was  a  swordVthrust  through  the  heart  of  the  mettled  Kurt ; 
but  the  gall  poured  itself  as  a  defence  into  his  blood. 

"  O  thou  faithless  strumpet  !  "  answered  he  ;  "  what  holds 
me,  that  I  do  not  take  thee  and  thy  bastards  and  wring  your 
necks  this  moment  ?  Dost  thou  recollect  thy  promise,  and 
the  oath  thou  hast  so  often  sworn  in  the  trustful  marriage- 
bed,  that  death  itself  should  not  part  thee  from  me  ?  Didst 
thou  not  engage,  unasked,  that  should  thy  soul  fly  up  di- 
rectly from  thy  mouth  to  Heaven,  and  I  were  roasting  in 
Purgatory,  thou  wouldst  turn  again  from  Heaven's  gate,  and 
come  down  to  me,  to  fan  cool  air  upon  me,  till  I  were  deliv- 
ered from  the  flames  ?  Devil  broil  thy  false  tongue,  thou 
gallows  carrion  !  " 

Though  the  Prima  Donna  of  Ordruff  was  endowed  with 
a  glib  organ,  which,  in  the  faculty  of  cursing,  yielded  no 
whit  to  that  of  the  tumultuous  pretender,  she  did  not  judge 
it  good  to  enter  into  farther  debate  with  him,  but  gave  her 
menials  an  expressive  sign ;  and,  in  an  instant,  man  and 
maid  seized  hold  of  the  mettled  Kurt,  and,  brevi  manu, 
ejected  his  body  from  the  house  ;  in  which  act  of  domestic 
jurisdiction  Dame  Rebecca  herself  bore  a  hand  with  the 
besom,  and  so  swept  away  this  discarded  helpmate  from  the 
premises.  The  mettled  Kurt,  half-broken  on  the  wheel, 
then  mounted  his  horse,  and  dashed  full  gallop  down  the  street, 
which  he  had  rode  along  so  gingerly  some  minutes  before. 

As  his  blood,  when  he  was  on  the  road  home,  began 
to  cool,   he  counted  loss  and  gain,  and   found  himself  not 


MELECHSALA.  215 

ill  contented   with  the   balance ;  for  he  found,  that,  except 
the  comfort  of  having  cool  air  fanned   upon  his  soul  in  Pur- 
gatory after  death,  his  smart  amounted  to  nothing.    He  never 
more   returned  to  Ordruff,  but  continued   with   the  Count  at 
Gleichen  all  his  life,  and  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  most  in- 
credible occurrence,  that  two  ladies  shared   the   love  of  one 
man,  without  quarrelling  or  jealousy,  and  that  even   under 
one  bed-tester  !     The  fair  Angelica  continued   childless,  yet 
she  loved  and  watched   over  her  associate's  children   as  if 
they  had  been  her  own,  and  divided  with   Ottilia  the  care  of 
their  education.     In  the   trefoil  of  this   happy  marriage,  she 
was  the  first  leaf  which  faded  away  in   the   autumn   of  life. 
Countess  Ottilia  soon  followed  her,  and  the  afflicted  widower, 
now  all  too  lonely  in  his  large  castle  and  wide  bed,  lingered 
but  a  few  months  longer.     The  firmly-established   arrange- 
ment of  these   noble  spouses  in  the   marriage-bed    through 
life  was   maintained  unaltered  after   their  death.     They  rest 
all  three  in  one  grave  in  front  of  the  Gleichen   Altar,  in  St. 
Peter's  Church  at  Erfurt,  on  the  Hill ;  where  their  place  of 
sepulture  is  still  to  be  seen,  overlaid   with  a  stone,  on  which 
the  noble  group  are  sculptured   after   the  life.     To  the  right 
lies  the  Countess  Ottilia,  with  a  mirror  in  her  hand,  the  em- 
blem of  her  praiseworthy  prudence  ;  on   the   left  Angelica, 
adorned  with   a   royal  crown  ;  and  in  the  midst   the   Count, 
reposing  on   his   coat-of-arms,  the   lion-leopard.*     Their  fa- 
mous triple  bedstead  is  still  preserved   as  a   relic   in  the  old 
Castle  ;  it  stands  in  the  room  called  the  Junkernkammer,  or 
Knight's  Chamber  ;  and   a   splinter  of  it,   worn   by  way  of 
busk  in  a  lady's  boddice,  is  said   to   have    the   virtue  of  dis- 
pelling every  movement  of  jealousy  from  her  heart. 


*  A  plate  of  this  tomb-stone  may  be  seen  in  Falkenstein's  Ana- 
lecta  Nordgaviensia.  —  M. 


FR.  DE   LA  MOTTE   FOUQUE 


VOL.  I.  19 


FRIEDRICH  DE  LA  MOTTE  FOUQUE. 


The  Baron  Friedrich  de  La  Motte  Fouque  is  of  French 
extraction,  but  distinguished  for  the  true  Germanism  of  his 
character,  both  as  a  writer  and  a  man  ;  and  ranks,  for  the 
last  twenty  years,  among  the  most  popular  and  productive 
authors  of  his  country. 

His  family,  expelled  from  France  by  the  Revocation  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantz,  appears  to  have  settled  at  the  Hague  ; 
from  which  this  branch  of  it  was  transferred  to  Prussia  by  the 
fortunes  of  our  Author's  grandfather,  whose  name  and  title 
the  present  Baron  has  inherited.  This  first  Friedrich,  born 
in  the  early  part  of  last  century,  had  been  sent  in  boyhood 
to  the  Court  of  Anhalt  Dessau,  in  the  character  of  Page : 
he  soon  quitted  this  station  ;  entered  the  Prussian  army  as 
a  private  volunteer ;  by  merit,  or  recommendation,  was 
gradually  advanced  ;  and  became  acquainted  with  the  Prince 
Royal,  then  a  forlorn,  oppressed,  and  discontented  youth, 
but  destined  afterwards  to  astonish  and  convulse  the  world, 
under  the  name  of  Frederick  the  Great.  Young  La  Motte 
stood  in  high  favor  with  Frederick  ;  and  seems  likewise  to 
have  shown  some  prudence  in  humoring  the  jealous  temper 
of  the  old  King ;  for  during  the  Prince's  arrest,  which  had 
followed  his  projected  elopement  from  paternal  tuition,  the 
royal  Shylock,  instead  of  beheading  La  Motte,  as  he  had 
treated  poor  De  Catt,  permitted  him  to  visit  the  disconsolate 
prisoner,  and  without  molestation  to  do  him  kind  offices.  On 
his  accession  to  the  throne,  Frederick  the   King  did  not  fail, 


220 


FOUqUE. 


in  this  instance,  to  remember  the  debts  of  Frederick  the 
Prisoner ;  the  friend  of  his  youth  continued  to  be  the  friend 
of  his  manhood  and  age  ;  La  Motte  rose  rapidly  from  post 
to  post  in  the  army,  till,  having  gained  the  rank  of  General, 
he  had  opportunity,  by  various  gallant  services  in  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  to  secure  the  prosperity  of  his  household,  and 
earn  for  himself  a  place  in  the  military  history  of  his  new 
country.  With  his  Sovereign  he  continued  in  a  kindly  and 
honest  relation  throughout  his  whole  life.  His  Letters,  pre- 
served in  Frederick's  Works,  are  a  proof  that  he  was  not 
only  favored  but  esteemed  ;  the  imperious  King  is  said  to 
have  respected  his  upright  and  truthful  nature  ;  and,  though 
himself  a  skeptic  and  a  scoffer,  never  to  have  interfered  in 
word  or  deed  with  the  piety  and  strict  religious  persuasions 
of  his  servant.  The  General  became  the  founder  of  that 
Prussian  family,  which  has  since  acquired  a  new  and  fairer 
distinction  in  the  person  of  his  grandson. 

The  present  Friedrich,  our  Author,  was  born  on  the  11th 
of  February,  1777.  Of  his  early  history  or  habits  we  have 
no  account,  except  that  he  was  educated  by  Hiilse  ;  and 
soon  sent  to  the  army  as  an  officer  in  the  Royal  Guards.  In 
this  capacity  he  served,  during  his  nineteenth  year,  in  the 
disastrous  campaign  of  the  Rhine.  One  of  his  brother  offi- 
cers and  intimates  here  was  Heinrich  von  Kleist,  a  noble- 
minded  and  ill-fated  man  of  genius,  whom  the  mismanage- 
ment of  a  too  impetuous  and  feeling  heart  has  since  driven 
to  suicide,  before  the  world  had  sufficiently  reaped  the  bright 
promise  of  his  early  years. 

The  misfortunes  of  his  country  drove  Fouque  back  into 
retirement.  While  Prussia  languished  in  hopeless  degrada- 
tion under  the  iron  sway  of  France,  he  kept  himself  apart 
from  military  life  ;  settled  in  the  country,  and  hanging  up 
his  ineffectual  sword,  devoted  himself  to  domestic  cares  and 
joys,  and  in   the   Kingdoms  of  Imagination  sought  refuge 


FOUQUE. 


221 


from  the  aspect  of  actual  oppression  and  distress.  Of  a 
temper  susceptible,  lively,  and  devout,  his  faculties  had  been 
quickened  by  communion  with  kindred  minds ;  and  still 
more  by  collision  with  the  vast  events  which  had  filled  the 
world  with  astonishment,  and  his  portion  of  it  with  darkness 
and  obstruction.  At  this  juncture,  while  contemplating  a 
literary  life,  it  was  doubtless  a  circumstance  of  no  small 
influence  on  his  future  efforts  that  he  became  acquainted 
with  August  Wilhelm  Schlegel.  By  Schlegel  he  was  intro- 
duced to  the  study  of  Spanish  poetry ;  a  fact  from  which  a 
skilful  theorizer  might  plausibly  enough  deduce  the  whole 
psychological  history  of  Fouque  ;  for  it  seems  as  if  the 
beautiful  and  wondrous  spirit  of  this  literature,  so  fervent 
yet  so  joyful,  so  solemn  yet  so  full  of  blandishment,  with  its 
warlike  piety,  and  gay,  chivalrous  pomp,  had  taken  entire 
possession  of  his  mind,  and  moulded  his  unsettled  powers 
into  the  form  which  they  have  ever  since  retained.  One 
thing,  at  all  events,  is  clear  without  help  of  theory ;  an 
ideal  of  Christian  Knighthood,  whencesoever  borrowed  or 
derived,  has  all  along,  with  more  or  less  distinctness,  hov- 
ered round  his  fancy  ;  and  this  it  has  been  the  constant  task 
not  only  of  his  pen  to  represent  in  poetical  delineations,  but 
also  of  his  life  to  realize  in  external  conduct.  As  to  its 
origin,  whether  in  the  poetry  of  Spain,  or  in  the  perplexities 
of  a  suffering  and  religious  life,  or  in  the  French  Revolution 
and  its  reaction  on  a  temper  abhorrent  of  its  material  prin- 
ciples, or  in  any  or  all  of  these  causes,  it  were  unpro- 
fitable to  inquire  ;  for  the  problem  is  of  no  vital  impor- 
tance, and  we  have  not  data  for  even  an  approximate  solu- 
tion. 

Fouque  published  his  first  works  under  the  pseudonym  of 

Pellegrin  ;    he  translated  the  Numancia  of  Cervantes ;  he 

wrote    Sigurd,  Alwin,   The  History   of  Ritter   Galmy  ;  a 

small  volume  of  Dramatic  Tales  was  published  for  him  by 

19  * 


222  fouque. 

his  friend  Schlegel.  These  performances  are  all  of  a  chiv- 
alry cast ;  attempts  to  body  forth  the  sentiment  with  which 
our  Author's  mind  was  already  almost  exclusively  pervaded. 
Their  success  was  incomplete ;  sufficient  to  indicate  their 
object,  but  not  to  attain  it.  The  models  which  he  had  in 
view  seem  still  to  have  awed  and  overshadowed  his  poetic 
faculty  ;  his  productions  have  a  southern,  exotic  aspect ;  and 
in  the  opinion  of  his  critics,  it  is  only  in  glimpses  that  a 
genuine  inspiration  can  be  discerned  in  them.  Der  Held 
des  Nor  dens  (The  Hero  of  the  North),  a  dramatic  work  in 
three  parts,  grounded  on  the  story  of  the  Niebelungen  Lied, 
was  the  first  performance  sent  forth  in  his  own  name  ;  and 
also  the  first  which  showed  his  genius  in  its  own  form,  or 
produced  any  deep  impression  on  the  public.  This  work 
was  acknowledged  to  be  of  true  northern  growth  ;  it  found 
applauding  readers,  and  had  the  honor  to  be  criticized  in  the 
Hiedelherger  Jahrbiicher,  by  no  meaner  a  person  than  Jean 
Paul  Friedrich  Kichter,  who  bestowed  on  the  poet  the  sur- 
name of  Der  Tapfere,  or  The  Valiant,  in  allusion  to  the 
quality  which  seemed  to  be  the  soul  of  his  own  character, 
and  of  the  characters  which  he  portrayed. 

The  ground  thus  gained,  La  Motte  Fouque  has  not  been 
negligent  to  make  good  and  extend.  Since  the  date  of  his 
first  appearance,  year  after  year  has  duly  added  its  tribute 
of  volumes  to  the  list  of  his  works ;  he  has  written  in  verse 
and  prose,  in  narrative  and  representation  ;  his  productions 
varying  in  form  through  all  the  extremes  of  variety,  but 
animated  by  the  same  old  spirit,  that  of  Knighthood  and 
Religion.  On  the  whole,  he  seems  to  have  continued  grow- 
ing in  esteem,  both  with  the  lower  and  the  upper  classes  of 
the  literary  world.  His  Zauberring  (Magic  Ring)  has 
lately  been  translated  into  English  ;  we  have  also  versions 
of  his  Sintram  and  his  Undine.  The  last  little  work,  pub- 
lished in  1811,  has  become  a   literary  pet  in  its  own  coun- 


FOUQJJE.  223 

try  ;  been  dandled  and  patted  not  only  by  the  soft  hands  of 
poetical  maidens,  but  even  by  the  horny  paws  of  Recensents, 
a  class  of  beings  to  the  full  as  dire  and  doughty  as  our  own 
Reviewers.  Undine  and  Sintram  are  parts  of  a  series  or 
circuit  of  "  Romantic  fictions,"  entitled  the  Jahreszeiten 
(Seasons),  which  were  published  successively  at  four  differ- 
ent periods  ;  it  is  from  the  same  work,  the  Autumn  Number 
of  it,  that  Aslauga's  Knight,  the  Tale  which  follows  this 
Introduction,  has  been  extracted. 

The  poet  had  now  wedded  ;  and  we  figure  him  as  happy 
in  his  own  Arcadian  seclusion  ;  for  his  lady  is  a  woman  of 
kindred  genius,  and  has  added  new  celebrity  to  his  name  by 
various  writings,  partly  of  her  own,  partly  in  concert  with 
her  husband.  In  1813,  his  poetic  leisure  was  interrupted 
by  the  clang  of  battle-trumpets.  Napoleon's  star  had  begun 
to  decline  ;  and  Prussia  rose,  as  one  man,  to  break  asunder 
the  fetters  with  which  he  had  so  long  chained  Europe  to  the 
dust.  The  knightly  Baron  was  the  first  to  rouse  himself  at 
the  voice  of  his  country  ;  he  again  girded  on  his  harness, 
and  took  the  field  at  the  head  of  a  small  troop  of  volunteers. 
His  little  band  would  seem  to  have  been  joined  with  the 
Jager  (or,  as  we  call  it,  Chasseur^Regiment  of  Branderburg 
Cuirassiers;  in  which  squadron  he  served,  first  as  Lieu- 
tenant, then  as  Rittmeister,  with  the  devout  and  fervid  gal- 
lantry which  he  had  so  often  previously  delineated  in  his 
writings.  Like  the  lamented  Korner,  he  stood  by  the  cause 
both  with  "  the  Lyre  and  the  Sword."  His  arm  was  ever  in 
the  hottest  of  the  battle  ;  and  his  songs  uplifted  the  triumph 
of  victory,  or  breathed  fresh  ardor  into  the  hearts  of  his 
comrades  in  defeat.  These  lyrical  effusions  have  since  been 
collected  and  published  ;  for  the  future  historian  they  will 
form  an  interesting  memorial.  At  Culm,  the  poetical  soldier 
was  wounded  ;  but  the  incompleteness  of  his  cure  did  not 
prevent  him  from  appearing  in  his  place  on  the  great  day  of 


224  Fouqui:. 

Leipzig  ;  and  thenceforward  following  the  scattered  enemy 
to  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  Here  ill  health,  arising  from 
excessive  exertion,  forced  him  to  return  ;  he  had  toiled 
faithfully  till  the  struggle  was  decided  ;  and  could  now, 
with  a  quiet  mind,  leave  others  to  complete  the  task.  By 
the  King  he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  Major,  and  decorated 
with  the  cross  of  the  Order  of  St.  John.  He  retired  to  his 
former  residence  at  Rennhausen,  near  Rathenau  ;  betook 
himself  again  to  writing,  with  unabated  diligence;  and  has 
since  produced,  among  various  other  chivalry  performances 
of  greater  or  smaller  extent,  an  "  epic  poem,"  entitled 
Corona,  celebrating  the  events  in  which  he  himself  was  pre- 
sent and  formed  part.  Here,  so  far  as  I  have  understood, 
he  still  chiefly  resides ;  enjoying  an  enviable  lot ;  the  do- 
mestic society  of  a  virtuous  and  gifted  wife  ;  the  exercise  of 
a  poetic  genius,  which  his  brethren  repay  with  praise  ;  and 
still  dearer  honors  as  a  man  and  a  citizen,  which  his  own 
conscience  may  declare  that  he  has  merited. 

Fouque's  genius  is  not  of  a  kind  to  provoke  or  solicit  much 
criticism ;  for  its  faults  are  negative  rather  than  positive, 
and  its  beauties  are  not  difficult  to  discern.  The  structure 
of  his  mind  is  simple  ;  his  intellect  is  in  harmony  with  his 
feelings  ;  and  his  taste  seems  to  include  few  modes  of  excel- 
lence, which  he  has  not  in  some  considerable  degree  the 
power  to  realize.  He  is  thus  in  unison  with  himself;  his 
works  are  free  from  internal  inconsistency,  and  appear  to  be 
produced  with  lightness  and  freedom.  A  pure,  sensitive 
heart,  deeply  reverent  of  Truth,  and  Beauty,  and  Heroic 
Virtue  ;  a  quick  perception  of  certain  forms  embodying  these 
high  qualities  ;  and  a  delicate  and  dainty  hand  in  picturing 
them  forth,  are  gifts  which  few  readers  of  his  works  will 
contest  him.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  granted,  he 
has  no  preeminence  in  strength,  either  of  head  or  heart; 
and  his  circle   of  activity,   though  full  of  animation,  is  far 


fouque,  225 

from  comprehensive.  He  is,  as  it  were,  possessed  by  one 
idea.  A  few  notes,  some  of  them,  in  truth,  of  rich  melody, 
yet  still  a  very  few,  include  the  whole  music  of  his  being, 
The  Chapel  and  the  Tiltyard  stand  in  the  background  or 
the  foreground,  in  all  the  scenes  of  his  universe.  He  gives 
us  knights,  soft-hearted  and  strong-armed  ;  full  of  Christian 
self-denial,  patience,  meekness,  and  gay,  easy  daring  ;  they 
stand  before  us  in  their  mild  frankness,  with  suitable  equip- 
ment, and  accompaniment  of  squire  and  dame ;  and  fre- 
quently the  whole  has  a  true,  though  seldom  a  vigorous, 
poetic  life.  If  this  can  content  us,  it  is  well ;  if  not,  there 
is  no  help;  for  change  of  scene  and  person  brings  little 
change  of  subject ;  even  when  no  chivalry  is  mentioned,  we 
feel  too  clearly  the  influence  of  its  unseen  presence.  Nor 
can  it  be  said  that  in  this  solitary  department  his  success  is 
of  the  very  highest  sort.  To  body  forth  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian Knighthood  in  existing  poetic  forms,  to  wed  that  old 
sentiment  to  modern  thoughts,  was  a  task  which  he  could 
not  attempt.  He  has  turned  rather  to  the  fictions  and 
machinery  of  former  days  ;  and  transplanted  his  heroes  into 
distant  ages,  and  scenes  divided  by  their  nature  from  our 
common  world.  Their  manner  of  existence  comes  imaged 
back  to  us  faint  and  ineffectual,  like  the  crescent  of  the 
setting  moon. 

These  things,  however,  are  not  faults,  but  the  want  of 
merits.  Where  something  is  effected,  it  were  ungracious  to 
reckon  up  too  narrowly  how  much  is  left  untried.  In  all 
his  writings,  Fouque  shows  himself  as  a  man  deeply  imbued 
with  feelings  of  religion,  honor,  and  brotherly  love ;  he  sings 
of  Faith  and  Affection  with  a  full  heart ;  and  a  spirit  of 
tenderness,  and  vestal  purity,  and  meek  heroism,  sheds 
salutary  influences  from  his  presence.  He  is  no  primate  or 
bishop  in  the  Church  Poetical ;  but.  a  simple  chaplain,  who 
merits  the  honors  of  a  small  but  well-discharged  function, 
and  claims  no  other. 


226  fouque. 

In   mental    structure,    Fouque   seems    the    converse   of 
Musaus,  whom  he  follows  in  the  present  volume.    If  Musaus 
was  a  man  of  talent,  with  little  genius,  Fouque  is  a  man  of 
genius,  with   little   more   than  an  ordinary  share  of  talent. 
His  intellect  is  not  richer,  or  more  powerful  than  that  of 
common  minds,   nor  his  insight  into  the  world,  and  man's 
heart,  more  keen ;  but  his  feelings  are  finer,  and  the  touch 
of  an  aerial  fancy  gives  life  and  loveliness  to  the  products  of 
his  other  powers.     Among   English  authors,  we  might  liken 
him    to    Southey ;    though   their    provinces    of  writing   are 
widely  diverse  ;  and,  in   regard    to  general  culture  and   ac- 
quirement, the  latter  must  be  reckoned   greatly  his  superior. 
Like  Southey,  he  finds  more   readily  than  he  invents ;  and 
his  invention,  when  he   does  trust  to  it,  is  apt  to  be  daring 
rather  than  successful.      Yet   his  extravagant   fictions   are 
pervaded   by  a  true  sentiment ;  a  soft,  vivifying  soul  looks 
through  them  ;  a  religious  submission,  a  cheerful   and  un- 
wearied patience  in  affliction  ;  mild,  earnest  hope  and  love  ; 
and  peaceful,  subdued  enthusiasm. 

To  these  internal  endowments,  he  adds  the  merit  of  a 
style  by  no  means  ill  adapted  for  displaying  them.  Light- 
ness and  simplicity  are  its  chief  characteristics ;  his  periods 
move  along  in  lively  rhythm  ;  studiously  excluding  all  pomp 
of  phraseology  ;  expressing  his  strongest  thoughts  in  the 
humblest  words,  and  veiling  dark  sufferings  or  resolute  pur- 
poses in  a  placid  smile.  A  faint,  superficial  gayety  seems 
to  rest  over  all  his  images  ;  it  is  not  merriment  or  humor  ; 
but  the  self-possession  of  a  man  too  earnestly  serious  to  be 
heedful  of  solemn  looks  ;  and  it  plays  like  sunshine  on  the 
surface  of  a  dark  pool,  deepening  by  contrast  the  impressive- 
ness  of  the  gloom  which  it  does  not  penetrate. 

If  this  little  Tale  of  Aslauga's  Knight  afford  any  tolerable 
emblem  of  those  qualities,  the  reader  will  not  grudge  pe- 


FOUQUE.  227 

rusing  it.  I  pretend  not  to  offer  it  as  the  best  of  Fouque's 
writings,  but  only  as  the  best  I  know  of  for  my  present  pur- 
pose. Slntram  and  Undine  are  already  in  our  language. 
This  tale  is  weaker  in  result,  but  also  shorter  in  compass. 
That  its  chivalry  is  of  a  still  wilder  sort  than  that  which  we 
supposed  Cervantes  had  abolished  two  centuries  ago  ;  that 
its  wonders  are  unnatural  even  in  the  region  of  the  wonder- 
ful ;  that  its  form  is  thin  and  unsubstantial,  and  its  effect 
unsatisfactory,  I  need  not  attempt  to  deny.  An  extravagant 
fiction  for  the  basis  ;  delicate,  airy,  and  beautiful  delineations, 
in  the  detail ;  and  the  everlasting  principles  of  Faith,  and 
Integrity,  and  Love,  pervading  the  whole ;  such  is  frequent- 
ly the  character  of  Fouque's  writings;  and  such,  on  a 
smaller  scale,  appears  to  be  that  of  AslaugcCs  Knight, 
which  is  now,  with  all  its  imperfections  on  its  head,  to  be 
submitted  to  the  courtesy  of  English  judges. 


ASLAUGA'S    KNIGHT. 


CHAPTER  I. 


In  the  Island  of  Funen,  there  lived,  in  old  times,  a  noble 
gentleman,  called  Froda  the  Skalds'-friend  ;  a  title  which 
had  been  given  him,  because  he  not  only  took  delight  in 
hospitably  entertaining  all  famous  and  honorable  singers  in 
his  fair  Castle,  but  also  labored,  with  great  industry,  in  col- 
lecting any  ancient  songs,  tales,  or  traditions,  which  might 
still  be  met  with  in  Runic  manuscripts,  or  otherwise.  With 
this  view,  he  had  even  made  some  voyages  to  Iceland,  and, 
in  the  course  of  them,  fought  several  bloody  battles  with  the 
pirates  ;  as  indeed  he  was,  in  all  points,  a  bold,  knightly  hero, 
and  vied  with  his  great  ancestors  not  only  in  the  matter  of 
poetry,  but  also  of  war.  He  was  still  a  blooming  young 
man  ;  yet  all  the  other  nobles  of  the  Island  were  accustomed 
to  combine  in  his  counsels  and  follow  his  banner  ;  nay,  his 
fame  had  passed  over  sea,  and  was  known  in  the  neighbor- 
ing Empire  of  Germany.  This  also  was  what  he  wished  ; 
for  it  would  have  broken  his  heart,  had  he  thought  that  of 
him  no  songs  would  be  sung,  and  no  tales  told,  in  after 
days. 

One  fine  autumn  evening,  this  worthy  lord  was  sitting 
before  his  Castle,  as  he  often  did  at  that  time  of  day,  both 
that  he  might  have  a  free  view  on  all  sides  over  land  and 
sea,  and  also  that  he  might  invite  any  passing  traveller  to 
come  in  with  him,  and  taste  his  hospitality.  However,  on 
the  present  occasion,  he  took  little  notice  of  the  sights  he 
was  wont  to  look  at ;  for  an  old  Book,  in  artful,  beautifully 
painted  characters,  had  just  been  sent  over  to  him  by  a  learned 


229 

Icelander,  and  was  now  lying  on  his  knee.  It  was  the 
story  of  Aslauga,  the  fair  daughter  of  Sigurd,  who  at  first, 
concealing  her  high  birth,  and  in  mean  apparel,  had  herded 
goats  for  some  poor  peasants;  then,  in  her  gold  veil  of 
flowing  tresses,  had  pleased  King  Ragnar  Lodbrog,  and  at 
last,  as  his  queenly  spouse,  had  adorned  the  Danish  throne 
till  the  end  of  her  days. 

The  Knight  Froda  felt  within  his  mind  as  if  the  graceful 
Lady  Aslauga  were  rising  in  life  and  bodily  presence  before 
him  ;  so  that  his  brave,  still  heart,  devoted  indeed  in  knightly 
service  to  all  women,  but  hitherto  untouched  with  passion 
for  any  individual  female,  now  flamed  up  in  bright  love  for 
this  fair  daughter  of  Sigurd.  "  What  matters  it,"  thought  he, 
"  that  she  has  vanished  from  the  Earth  long  years  ago  ?  She 
still  sees  so  bright  and  clear  into  this  heart  of  mine;  and 
what  more  would  a  knight  desire  ?  Therefore  shall  she 
henceforth,  for  ever  and  ever,  be  my  gentle  dame,  and  my 
helper  in  fight  and  song."  In  this  mood,  he  made  some 
verses  on  his  new  mistress,  which  ran  as  follows : 

"  They  ride  and  they  seek  with  toil  and  care, 
To  find  a  heart's  mistress  passing  fair; 
Through  tower  and  through  town  they  ride  and  seek, 
To  find  a  heart's  mistress  passing  meek ; 
Where  rivers  are  rolling  and  mountains  rise, 
To  find  a  heart's  mistress  passing  wise: 
Ah,  Knights !  ye  may  seek,  and  seek  full  long, 
'Tis  I  have  found  her  in  Realms  of  Song! 
I've  found  her,  this  mistress,  wise,  fair,  and  meek; 
How  hearts  can  adore,  my  sword  shall  speak: 
And  should  I  not  see  her  while  toiling  Here, 
O,  Yonder,  her  form  is  light  and  clear; 
And  dwells  she  not  down  in  Earth,  this  love, 
Our  spirits  are  one  in  lands  Above. 
Good  night,  thou  old  Avorld!  —  Sweet  love, 'tis  past! 
Who  seeketh  in  faith  will  find  at  last." 
vol.  i.  20 


230  FOUQUE. 

"  Much  depends  on  fortune,  too,"  said  a  hollow  voice, 
hard  by  the  Knight  ;  and,  on  looking  round,  he  observed 
the  form  of  a  poor  peasant  woman,  so  closely  shrouded  up 
in  gray-colored  wrappings,  that  he  could  not  see  the  small- 
est portion  of  her  face.  She  was  looking  over  his  shoulder 
into  the  Book,  and  she  said,  with  a  deep  sigh:  "  I  know 
this  story  well ;  and  I  myself  fare  no  better  than  the  lady 
it  is  written  of."  Froda  looked  at  her  with  amazement. 
"Yes  indeed,  yes  indeed,"  continued  she,  with  strange  becks 
and  nods;  "  sure,  I  am  the  descendant  of  the  great  Rolf, 
to  whom  the  fairest  castles,  and  forests,  and  fields,  of  this 
Island  belonged  ;  thy  castle,  and  thy  lands,  Froda,  among 
others.  And  now  we  are  sunk  into  poverty ;  and  because 
I  am  not  so  fair  as  Aslauga,  there  is  nothing  can  be  done 
for  me,  and  I  am  fain  to  hide  my  poor  face  altogether."  It 
seemed  as  if  she  wept  warm  tears  under  her  covering.  At 
this  Froda  was  touched,  and  he  begged  of  her,  for  Heaven's 
sake,  to  let  him  know  how  he  might  help  her ;  he  was  a 
descendant,  he  said,  of  the  great  Northland  heroes,  and 
perhaps  something  more  than  they,  a  good  Christian.  "  I 
almost  fancy,"  murmured  she  beneath  her  veil,  "  that  thou 
art  the  same  Froda  whom  they  name  the  Good  and  the 
Skalds'-friend,  and  of  whose  mildness  and  greatness  of  mind 
they  tell  such  strange  stories.  If  it  is  so,  I  may  still  find 
help.  Thou  hast  but  to  give  me  the  half  of  thy  fields  and 
meadows ;  I  should  then  be  in  something  like  a  state  to 
live  as  beseemeth  the  descendant  of  the  great  Rolf." 

Then  Froda  looked  thoughtfully  on  the  ground,  both 
because  she  had  asked  so  much,  and  because  he  was  con- 
sidering whether  she  could  be  in  truth  descended  from  the 
mighty  Rolf.  But  after  a  short  pause,  the  veiled  woman 
said  :  "  I  must  be  mistaken,  then,  it  seems  ;  and  thou  art 
not  that  far-famed,  gentle-hearted  Froda.  Would  Froda 
have  thought  so  long  over  such  a  trifle  ?     But  I  will  try  the 


aslauga's  knight.  231 

utmost.  See,  for  the  fair  Aslauga's  sake,  of  whom  thou 
hast  been  reading,  and  wert  just  singing ;  for  the  sake  of 
Sigurd's  bright  daughter,  fulfil  my  petition." 

Then  Froda  started  up  with  a  glowing  heart,  and  cried  : 
"Let  it  be  as  thou  hast  said  !"  and  held  out  to  her  his 
knightly  hand,  in  confirmation.  But  he  could  not  grasp 
the  fingers  of  the  woman,  though  her  dim  shape  continued 
standing  close  by  him.  At  this,  a  secret  shudder  began  to 
creep  over  his  frame,  while  suddenly  a  light  seemed  to  issue 
from  the  form  ;  a  golden  light,  which  covered  her  as  with 
a  dazzling  garment ;  and  he  felt  in  his  mind  as  if  Aslauga 
were  standing  before  him,  clothed  in  the  waving  veil  of 
her  gold  hair,  and  looking  on  him  with  a  kind  smile.  Trans- 
ported and  blinded,  he  sank  on  his  knee.  On  again  rising 
up,  he  saw  nothing  but  an  autumn  cloud  passing  over  the 
meadows,  fringed  in  its  outline  with  the  last  brightness  of 
twilight,  and  then  disappearing  far  off  among  the  waves 
of  the  sea. 

The  Knight  knew  not  what  to  make  of  this  occurrence. 
In  deep  reflection,  he  returned  to  his  apartments  ;  at  one 
time  thinking  for  certain  that  he  had  seen  Aslauga  herself; 
at  another,  that  some  goblin  had  risen  before  him  with 
deceitful  juggleries,  mocking,  in  spiteful  wise,  the  service 
which  he  had  vowed  to  the  departed  lady.  But  thenceforth, 
whether  he  was  passing  over  dale,  and  heath,  and  forest, 
or  sailing  on  the  sea  billows,  such  like  appearances  fre- 
quently met  him.  Once  he  found  a  cithern  lying  in  the 
wood,  and  scared  off  a  wolf  from  it ;  and  while  the  cithern 
of  itself  broke  forth  into  sweet  tones,  a  fair  baby  rose  out 
of  it,  as  of  old  Aslauga  herself  had  done,  when  found  in  a 
similar  manner.  At  other  times,  he  would  see  goats  clam- 
bering among  the  cliffs  by  the  shore,  and  a  golden  form  as 
if  herding  them ;  then  again  a  resplendent  queen  in  a 
glittering   bark   would   seem  to  glide  past  him,  and    salute 


232  FOUQUE. 

him  with  smiles.  And  still,  when  he  tried  to  get  near  aught 
of  this,  it  was  vapor,  and  cloud,  and  air.  A  poet  might  sing 
many  songs  of  these  things.  So  much,  however,  he  gathered 
from  it,  that  the  fair  dame,  Aslauga,  had  accepted  his  ser- 
vice, and  that  he  had  in  deed  and  in  truth  become  her 
knight. 


CHAPTER  II. 

During  these  things,  winter  had  come  on,  and  again 
passed  away.  In  northern  countries,  this  young  season  of 
the  year,  to  those  who  understand  it  and  know  how  to  love 
it,  is  always  wont  to  bring  along  with  a  crowd  of  most  fair 
and  expressive  images  ;  with  which,  if  you  speak  of  earthly 
enjoyment,  many  a  man  might  content  himself  for  his  whole 
earthly  life.  But  at  this  time,  when  the  spring  came  glanc- 
ing forth  with  its  budding  leaves  and  its  streaming  brooks, 
there  came  likewise  from  the  German  Empire  a  most  flow- 
ery and  sunshiny  piece  of  tidings  over  to  Funen. 

On  the  rich  banks  of  the  Mayo,  where  he  pours  his  flood 
through  the  blessed  land  of  Franconia,  there  stood  an  almost 
royal  fortress,  the  orphan  heiress  of  which  was  a  relative  of 
the  German  Kaiser.  She  was  called  Hildegardis,  and  ac- 
knowledged far  and  wide  for  the  fairest  of  virgins.  Now 
her  Imperial  uncle  wished  also  that  she  should  wed  the  bold- 
est Knight  that  could  be  found  far  and  wide,  and  no  other 
than  the  boldest.  Accordingly,  he  followed  the  example  of 
many  noble  chiefs  in  such  cases,  and  appointed  a  Tourna- 
ment, in  which  the  first  prize  should  be  the  hand  of  the 
lovely  Hildegardis,  provided  that  the  victor  were  not  already 
married,  or  occupied  in  his  heart  with  some  other  fair  friend. 
For  the  lists  were  not  to  be  shut  against  any  knightly  war- 
rior of  proper  bearing  and  birth,  that  the  contest  of  courage 


233 

and  strength  to  be  displayed  might  be  so  much  the  richer. 
Of  all  this  Froda's  German  brethren  wrote  him  full  ac- 
counts, and  he  made  ready  for  appearing  at  the  festival. 

Before  all,  he  forged  for  himself  a  gallant  suit  of  mail,  as 
indeed,  among  the  whole  armorers  of  the  North,  a  region 
famed  on  this  account,  he  was  the  most  expert.  The  hel- 
met he  worked  of  pure  gold,  and  formed  it  in  such  a  way 
that  it  looked  on  all  parts  like  mere  clustering  locks,  recall- 
ing to  his  mind  the  golden  hair  of  Aslauga.  Thus,  also,  he 
fashioned  on  the  breast-plate  of  his  harness,  which  was 
coated  with  silver,  a  gold  shape,  in  half-relief,  representing 
Aslauga  in  her  tressy  veil  ;  to  make  it  clear  to  all  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Tourney,  that  this  Knight,  bearing 
on  his  breast  the  figure  of  a  lady,  was  fighting  not  for  the 
hand  of  the  fair  Hildegardis,  but  for  the  joy  of  battle  and 
knightly  honor. 

Then  he  led  his  gay  Danish  horse  from  its  stall,  put  it 
carefully  on  shipboard,  and  sailed  over  in  safety. 


CHAPTER   III. 

In  one  of  those  fair  boxwood  thickets,  which  you  often 
see  in  the  kind  lands  of  Germany,  he  once  fell  in  with  a 
young  friendly  Knight,  of  delicate  form  ;  who  having  just, 
in  the  gayest  manner,  spread  out  his  repast  on  the  green 
sward,  under  the  shadow  of  pleasant  boughs,  invited  the 
brave  Northman  to  partake  of  it.  As  the  two  were  here 
dining  cheerfully  together,  they  felt  a  kindness  in  their  hearts 
towards  one  another;  and  rejoiced  to  observe,  on  rising, 
that  their  present  destinations  led  them  both  the  same  road. 
Not  that  they  had  signified  this  in  words  ;  on  the  contrary, 
the  young  Knight,  whoose  name  was  Edwald,  was  of  an 
extremely  taciturn  nature,  so  that  he  could  sit  for  hours  with 
20* 


234  fouque. 

a  quiet  smile  on  his  face,  and  never  once  open  his  mouth. 
But  in  this  quiet,  smile  itself  there  came  a  pious  and  kindly- 
grace  to  view  ;  and  then,  when  at  times  a  simple  but  sig- 
nificant word  escaped  over  his  lips,  it  appeared  as  a  gift 
deserving  thanks.  So  likewise  was  it  with  the  little  songs, 
which  he  now  and  then  chanted.  They  were  almost  as 
soon  ended  as  begun  ;  but  in  their  short  lines  dwelt  a  deep, 
graceful  life,  whether  it  shaped  itself  as  a  friendly  sigh,  or 
as  a  blessed  smile.  The  noble  Froda  felt  as  if  a  younger 
brother  had  been  riding  at  his  hand,  or  even  a  tender,  bloom- 
ing son. 

In  this  way  they  continued  several  days  together ;  it  al- 
most seemed  as  if  their  paths  were  marked  out  for  them  in 
inseparable  union  ;  and  much  as  they  rejoiced  in  this,  they 
used  to  look  at  one  another,  at  outsetting,  or  when  cross- 
ways  met,  with  an  air  of  sadness,  as  if  asking  whether  there 
would  still  appear  no  diversity  in  their  direction.  Nay,  it 
seemed  as  if  in  Edwald's  downcast  eye  a  tear  were  gather- 
ing. 

It  happened  once,  that,  in  their  inn,  they  came  upon  a 
rude,  overbearing  Knight,  of  gigantic  form  and  strong  limbs, 
and  foreign,  un-German  speech  and  manners.  He  came,  it 
appeared,  from  Bohemia.  This  Knight  looked  over  with 
a  strange  smile  to  Froda,  who  had  again  spread  out  the  old 
Book  with  Aslauga's  History  before  him,  and  was  diligently- 
reading  it.  "  Perhaps  you  are  a  clerical  Knight  ?  "  he  in- 
quired of  him,  and  seemed  ready  furnished  to  commence  a 
whole  train  of  unseemly  jests.  But  the  negative  reply 
came  over  Froda's  lips  in  so  grave  and  firm  a  tone,  that  the 
foreign  Knight  on  the  instant  stopped  short ;  as  you  often 
see  the  smaller  animals,  when  they  have  risked  a  little  lib- 
erty with  their  king  the  Lion,  shrink  into  peace  at  a  single 
look  from  him.  Into  peace,  however,  this  foreign  Knight 
did  not  shrink.     On  the  other  hand,  he   now  began  to  break 


ASLAUGAS    KNIGHT. 


235 


jokes  on  Edwald,  on  his  youth,  his  silence,  and  delicate 
form  ;  all  which  the  latter  bore  for  some  time  with  great 
patience  ;  but  at  last  when  the  stranger  ventured  a  too  inju- 
rious word,  he  rose  up,  girt  on  his  sword,  and  said  with  a 
dainty  bow  :  "  I  thank  you,  Sir,  for  your  wish  to  give  me 
opportunity  of  proving  that  I  am  no  timid  or  unpractised 
follower  of  knighthood.  For  in  this  view  alone  can  your 
behavior  be  excused,  which  otherwise  I  should  be  obliged  to 
call  extremely  uncivil.     Would  you  please ?  " 

With  this  he  stept  out  before  the  door  ;  the  Bohemian 
followed  him  with  a  scornful  smile  ;  and  Froda,  much  con- 
cerned for  his  young  friend,  whose  honor  was,  however,  far 
too  precious  in  his  eyes  to  allow  a  thought  of  in  any  way 
taking  up  the  cause  himself. 

It  soon  appeared  that  the  Northman's  anxiety  had  been 
groundless.  With  equal  vigor  and  address,  young  Edwald 
fell  on  his  gigantic  adversary  ;  so  that  to  look  upon  the 
matter,  it  was  almost  like  those  battles  between  knights  and 
forest  monsters,  of  which  we  read  in  old  books.  The  issue, 
too,  was  of  the  same  sort.  As  the  Bohemian  was  collecting 
all  his  strength  for  a  decisive  stroke,  Edwald  darted  in  on 
him,  and  with  the  force  of  a  wrestler  cast  him  to  the  ground. 
Then,  however,  he  spared  his  conquered  enemy  ;  courteous- 
ly helped  him  up  again,  and  went  to  seek  his  horse.  In  a 
little,  he  and  Froda  left  the  inn  ;  and  their  journey  once 
more  led  them  both  the  same  way. 

"  From  henceforth  I  am  glad  of  this,"  said  Froda,  point- 
ing with  a  look  of  satisfaction  to  their  common  road.  "  For 
I  must  own  to  thee,  Edkin  "  —  he  was  wont  in  pleasant  con- 
fidence to  call  his  young  friend  by  this  childlike  name  —  "I 
must  own  to  thee,  when  I  thought  hitherto,  that  perhaps 
thou  wert  journeying  with  me  to  the  Tournament  in  honor 
of  the  fair  Hildegardis,  a  certain  care  arose  up  over  my 
heart      Thy  true  knightly  spirit  I  well  knew  \  but  I  dreaded 


236  fou^ue. 

lest  the  force  in  thy  tender  arms  might  not  suffice  it.  At 
length  I  have  come  to  know  thee  as  a  swordsman  that  may- 
long  seek  his  match  ;  and  Heaven  be  thanked  if  our  paths 
go  on  and  on,  one  way  ;  and  welcome  to  me,  by  the  first 
chance,  to  front  me  in  the  lists !  " 

But  Edwald  looked  at  him  with  a  sad  countenance,  and 
said  :  "  What  can  my  strength  and  skill  avail  me,  when  it 
is  with  thee  I  am  to  try  them,  and  for  the  highest  prize  of 
life,  which  only  one  of  us  can  gain?  Ah  !  this  heavy  news, 
that  thou  also  art  proceeding  to  the  fair  Hildegardis's  Tourn- 
ament, I  have  long  foreboded  with  sorrowful  heart." 

"  Edkin,"  answered  the  smiling  Froda,  "  thou  kind,  gentle 
child,  dost  thou  not  see,  then,  that  I  already  wear  the  image 
of  a  mistress  on  my  breast-plate  ?  My  battle  is  but  for  the 
honor  of  victory,  not  for  thy  fair  Hildegardis." 

"My  fair  Hildegardis!"  sighed  Edwald.  "That  she 
will  never  be  in  this  world  ;  or  if  she  should  — Ah,  Froda  ! 
it  would  break  thy  heart.  I  know  well,  the  Northland  faith 
is  deep-rooted  like  your  rocks,  and  hard  to  melt  like  their 
snowy  tops  ;  but  let  no  son  of  man  believe  that  he  can  look 
unpunished  into  the  fair  eyes  of  Hildegardis.  Has  not  she, 
the  proud,  the  overproud  maiden,  so  cra-zed  my  still,  humble 
mind,  that  I  have  forgotten  the  chasm  which  is  lying  betwixt 
us,  and  am  hastening  after  her,  and  would  rather  die  than 
renounce  the  wild  hope  of  gaining  this  eagle  spirit  for  my- 
self?" 

"I  will  help  thee,  Edkin,"  answered  Froda,  still  smiling. 
"  Could  I  but  know  how  this  queenly  mistress  looks  !  She 
must  resemble  the  Walkeurs  of  our  Heathen  ancestors,  I 
think,  since  so  many  gallant  heroes  yield  before  her." 

Edwald,  with  a  serious  air,  took  a  picture  from  his  breast- 
plate, and  held  it  up  to  him.  Fixed,  and  as  if  enchanted, 
Froda  gazed  upon  it ;  his  cheeks  glowed,  his  eyes  sparkled  + 
the  smile  vanished  from   his   face,  as   sunlight  fades  away 


ASLAUGA  S    KNIGHT. 


237 


from  the  meadows  before  the  advancing  blackness  of  the 
storm. 

"Dost  thou  see  now,  my  lordly  comrade,"  muttered 
Edvvald,  "  that  for  one,  or  perhaps  for  both  of  us,  the  joy 
of  life  is  gone  ?  " 

"  Not  yet,"  answered  Froda,  with  a  violent  effort  over  his 
mind  ;  "  but  hide  thy  strange  picture,  and  let  us  rest  beneath 
this  shade.  The  duel  must  have  tired  thee  a  little  ;  and  for 
me  an  unwonted  weariness  presses  me  down  with  leaden 
weight." 

They  dismounted  from  their  horses;  and  reclined  them- 
selves on  the  sward. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

The  noble  Froda  had  no  purpose  of  sleeping  ;  he  wish- 
ed without  disturbance  to  begin  a  stout  struggle  with  him- 
self, and  try,  if  so  might  be,  to  drive  from  his  mind  the 
frightfully  fair  image  of  Hildegardis.  But  it  was  as  if  the 
foreign  power  had  already  grown  a  portion  of  his  own  life  ; 
and  at  last  a  restless,  dreamy  sleep  did  in  fact  overshadow 
his  exhausted  senses.  He  fancied  himself  fighting  among 
a  crowd  of  knights,  and  Hildegardis  was  looking  on  with 
smiles  from  a  gay  balcony  ;  and  as  he  was  about  gaining 
the  prize,  he  perceived  Edvvald  moaning  in  his  blood  under 
the  hoofs  of  the  horses.  Again  it  seemed  to  him  that  he 
was  standing  by  the  side  of  Hildegardis  in  a  church,  and 
about  to  be  married  to  her;  he  knew  that  it  was  not  right; 
and  the  Yes,  which  he  was  to  pronounce,  he  pressed  back 
with  resolute  force  into  his  heart ;  and  in  doing  so  his  eyes 
were  wetted  with  warm  tears.  Out  of  still  wilder  and  more 
perplexed  vision  Edwald's  voice  at  length  awoke  him.  He 
sat  up  ;  and  his  young  comrade  was  saying  in  a  kind  tone, 


238  fouque. 

directed  towards  a  neighboring  bush  :  "  Come  back,  how- 
ever, noble  maid.  I  will  surely  help  you  if  I  can  ;  I  did  not 
mean  to  scare  you  away  ;  only  you  were  not  to  interrupt 
my  brother  in  his  sleep."  A  departing  gleam  of  gold  glit- 
tered over  through  the  twigs. 

"  For  Heaven's  sake,  comrade,"  cried  Froda,  starting  to 
his  feet,  "  whom  art  thou  speaking  to,  whom  didst  thou  see 
near  me  ? " 

"  I  know  not  rightly  how  it  was,  myself,"  said  Edwald. 
"  Thou  hadst  scarcely  fallen  asleep,  when  a  figure  came 
forward  from  the  wood,  wrapped  up  in  deep,  dark  coverings  ; 
at  first  I  took  her  for  a  peasant  woman.  She  sat  down  by 
thy  head,  and  though  I  could  see  nothing  of  her  face,  I  ob- 
served that  she  was  in  grief,  and  even  saw  her  weeping.  I 
beckoned  to  her  to  remove,  and  not  disturb  thee  ;  and  was 
about  to  offer  her  a  piece  of  gold,  supposing  her  distress 
arose  from  poverty.  But  suddenly  my  hand  was  as  it  were 
rendered  powerless  ;  and  a  terror  passed  through  my  heart, 
as  if  I  had  conceived  such  a  thought  against  a  queen.  At 
the  same  time  glittering  gold  locks  here  and  there  waved  out 
from  among  her  coverings,  and  the  grove  began  almost  to 
shine  with  the  reflection  of  them.  '  Poor  boy,'  said  she  then, 
1  thou  lovest  in  thy  own  breast,  and  canst  figure  how  a  high 
female  soul  must  burn  in  keen  sadness,  when  a  hero  that 
engaged  to  be  ours  turns  away  his  heart,  and  is  drawn  to 
lower  hopes  like  a  weak  bondsman.'  Thereupon  she  rose, 
and  disappeared  with  a  sigh  in  that  bush.  I  almost  felt, 
Froda,  as  if  she  named  thee." 

"  Yes,  she  named  me,"  answered  Froda ;  "  and  she  has 
not  named  me  in  vain.  Aslauga  !  thy  knight  comes  on; 
he  rides  into  the  lists,  and  for  thee  and  thy  renown  alone. 
And  in  the  meanwhile,  Edkin,  we  will  win  thy  proud  bride 
for  thee  also."  With  this,  full  of  his  old,  proud  joyfulness, 
he  again  sprang  on  horseback  ;  and  whenever  the  magic  of 


239 

Hildegardis's  beauty  was  about  to  mount  up  before  him,  to 
dazzle  and  perplex,  he  gave  a  smile  and  cried,  "  Aslauga  !  " 
and  his  inward  sun  again  beamed  forth  serene  and  cloud- 
less. 

CHAPTER  V. 

On  a  balcony  in  the  stately  Castle  of  the  Mayn,  Hilde- 
gardis  was  accustomed  to  enjoy  the  cool  of  the  evening, 
looking  over  the  rich,  sweet  scene  ;  and,  with  still  more  pleas- 
ure, over  the  gleam  of  arms,  which  might  generally  be  seen 
at  the  same  time  on  many  distant  roads,  from  knights  jour- 
neying hither,  with  and  without  retinue,  purposing  for  the 
high  prize  of  the  Tournament  to  try  their  force  and  courage 
in  it.  She  was  in  truth  a  very  proud  and  high-minded 
maiden  ;  and  perhaps  carried  matters  farther  in  this  respect 
than  even  her  glancing  beauty  and  princely  rank  could 
altogether  justify.  Now,  as  she  was  once  looking  over  the 
glittering  roads  with  her  usual  smile,  a  young  damsel  of  her 
train  began  this  little  song : 

Ah,  were  I  but  a  little  bird, 

To  sing  from  tree  to  tree  ; 
And  telling  no  one  e'er  a  word, 

Come  out  so  frank  and  free 
With  all,  O  with  all  that  dwelt  in  me  ! 

Ah,  were  I  but  a  little  flower, 

To  bloom  on  grassy  lea ; 
With  my  sweet  perfumes  every  hour, 

Come  out  so  frank  and  free 
With  all,  O  with  all  that  dwelt  in  me ! 

Ah,  I  am  but  an  armed  Knight 

Bound  over  land  and  sea; 
Must  shut  my  heart  in  rest  and  fight ; 

And  laid  in  grave  shall  be 
My  all,  O  my  all  that  dwells  in  me! 


240  FOU^UE. 

"Why  do  you  sing  this  song,  and  even  now  ? "  said 
Hildegardis,  striving  to  look  very  proud  and  scornful  at  it, 
yet  a  deep,  secret  sadness  was  visibly  enough  flitting  over 
her  face.  "  It  came  into  my  head  I  know  not  how,"  re- 
plied the  maid,  "as  I  looked  up  the  road,  where  the  soft 
Edwald  with  his  dainty  little  songs  first  came  to  us;  it  was 
he  that  taught  me  this.  But  seems  it  not,  my  mistress,  and 
you,  good  girls,  as  if  Edwald  were  riding  hither  that  way 
again  this  moment  ?  " —  "  Dreams  !  "  sneered  Hildegardis  ; 
and  yet  for  a  long  while  could  not  lead  away  her  eye  from 
the  knight,  till  at  last  almost  by  violence  she  turned  it  on 
Froda,  his  companion,  saying  :  "  Well,  yes,  that  one  is 
Edwald.  But  what  have  you  to  see  in  that  meek,  humble 
boy  ?  Here  cast  your  eyes,  my  maidens,  on  that  other 
lofty  form,  if  you  would  see  a  proper  man."  She  was 
silent.  Through  her  bosom  went  a  sound  as  of  prophesying, 
that  now  the  conqueror  of  the  Tournament  was  riding  into 
the  court ;  and  for  the  first  time  in  her  life,  in  looking  at 
the  stately  Northman,  she  felt  a  submissive,  almost  painful 
reverence  for  a  human  being. 

At  supper  the  two  new-come  Knights  were  placed 
opposite  the  queenly  Hildegardis.  As  Froda,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  North,  was  sitting  in  full  armor,  the  golden 
figure  of  Aslauga  glittered  from  the  silver  cuirass  full  in  the 
eyes  of  the  proud  lady.  She  smiled  haughtily,  as  if  she 
felt  that  it  depended  but  on  her  will  to  drive  the  image  of 
that  fair  one  from  the  breast  and  the  heart  of  the  Knight. 
But  suddenly  a  clear,  golden  gleam  passed  through  the  hall, 
so  that  Hildegardis  cried  :  "  What  keen  lightning  !  "  and 
covered  her  eyes  with  her  hands.  Froda,  however,  looked 
with  joyful  salutation  at  the  bright  splendor.  Thereby 
Hildegardis's  fear  of  him  grew  still  deeper ;  though  she 
thought  within  herself,  this  highest  and  most  mysterious 
of  men  was  before  all  others  born   for  her  alone.     Yet  she 


241 

could  not  help  often  looking,  almost  against  her  will,  with 
emotion  and  warmth  at  the  poor  Edwald,  who  was  sitting 
there  so  silent  and  kindly,  as  if  he  were  smiling  compassion- 
ately on  his  own  sorrow  and  his  own  vain  hope. 

When  the  two  Knights  were  left  alone  in  their  apartment, 
Edwald  still  kept  looking  for  a  long  time  from  the  window 
into  the  fresh,  airy  night.   Then  he  sang  to  his  cithern  : 

A  Hero  so  true, 
A  Boy  who  loved 
This  hero  proved, 
They  went  through  the  world,  these  two. 

The  Hero  did  win 
Him  peace  and  joy  ; 
This  saw  the  Boy, 
And  had  his  delight  therein. 

But  Froda  took  the  cithern  from  his  hands,  and  said  : 
"  No,  Edkin,  I  will  teach  thee  another  song.  Listen  : 

The  Hall  it  grows  bright  as  at  morning-tide, 

The  Maiden  is  come  in  beauty's  pride  ; 

She  looks  on  the  right,  and  then  round  the  left ; 

No  gallant  is  yet  of  hope  bereft. 

He  there  with  the  golden  cloak  will 't  be  ? 

She  glances  aside  ;  I  think,  not  he. 

Or  he  with  the  cunning  talk  and  wise  ? 

She's  turning  from  him  her  ear  and  eyes. 

Belike  't  is  the  Prince  with  the  pearls  and  gold  ? 

Her  look  on  that  side  is  short  and  cold. 

Then  who,  in  the  world,  let  us  hear,  I  pray, 

Who  is  't  that  the  Maid  at  last  will  say  ? 

All  silent  and  sorrowing,  sits  apart 

A  dainty  young  Squire  ;  he  rules  her  heart. 

They  tell  many  tales  to  themselves,  I  wot ; 

That  one,  he  shall  win,  and  knows  it  not." 

Edwald's  heart  was  glowing  within  his  breast.     "  As  God 
vol.  i.  21 


242  FOUQUE. 

will,"  said  he,  low  to  himself;  "  but  I  think  I  should  never 
understand  how  such  a  thing  had  come  to  pass." 

"  As  God  will !  "  repeated   Froda.     The  two  friends  em- 
braced, and  soon  after  fell  cheerfully  asleep. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Some  days  after  this,  Froda  was  once  sitting  in  a  remote 
grove  of  the  Castle  garden,  reading  in  the  ancient  Book 
about  his  fair  mistress  Aslauga.  Now  it  chanced  that 
Hildegardis  was  passing  that  way  at  the  time.  She  stopped 
thoughtfully,  and  said  : 

"  How  comes  it,  you  strange  compound  of  Knight  and 
cunning  Master,  that  you  keep  the  rich  treasures  of  your 
knowledge  so  much  to  yourself?  I  should  think,  you 
must  have  many  fine  stories  ready  in  your  mind  ;  for  in- 
stance, the  one  you  have  before  you  even  now  ;  for  I  see 
some  bright,  dainty  figures  of  fair  virgins  and  noble  heroes 
painted  among  the  letters." 

"  In  sooth,  it  is  the  lordliest  and  loveliest  story  this,  in 
the  whole  world,"  answered  Froda.  "  But  ye  have  no 
patience,  and  no  seriousness,  to  listen  to  our  old  Northland 
tales." 

"  Who  told  you  that  ?  "  said  Hildegardis,  with  a  little 
pride,  which  she  liked  to  assume  towards  Froda  when  she 
could  ;  then  seated  herself  on  the  stone  bench  opposite  him, 
and  gave  order  that  "  he  should  forthwith  read  to  her  some- 
what from  the  Book." 

Froda  began  ;  and,  in  the  very  exertion  with  which  he 
labored  to  translate  the  old  heroic  Iceland  speech  into 
German,  his  heart  and  soul  flamed  up  in  more  solemn 
fervor.  When  he  raised  his  eyes  now  and  then,  he  looked 
into  Hildegardis's  beaming  countenance,  as  for  joy  and  sym- 


aslauga's  knight.  243 

pathy  and  admiration,  it  glanced  still  fairer  and  fairer ; 
and  thoughts  went  through  his  mind,  as  if  she,  after  all, 
might  be  his  appointed  bride  on  Earth,  to  whom  Aslauga 
herself  was  conducting  him. 

Then  suddenly  the  characters  grew  strangely  perplexed 
before  his  eyes ;  it  was  as  if  the  figures  were  beginning  to 
move,  and  he  was  forced  to  stop.  But,  as  he  was  looking 
with  strained  sight  into  the  Book,  to  drive  away  this  won- 
drous interruption,  he  heard  a  well-known,  gently-solemn 
voice,  saying  :  "  Make  a  little  room,  fair  lady.  The  story 
which  the  Knight  is  reading  to  you  treats  of  me,  and  I  like 
to  hear  it." 

Before  the  eyes  of  the  gazing  Froda  sat  his  mistress 
Aslauga,  in  the  pomp  of  her  golden,  waving  locks,  on  the 
bench  beside  Hildegardis.  The  maiden,  with  tears  of  fright 
in  her  eyes,  sank  back  in  a  swoon.  Aslauga  threatened  her 
Knight,  earnestly  but  kindly,  with  her  fair  right  hand,  and 
vanished. 

"  What  have  I  done  to  you,"  cried  Hildegardis,  recov- 
ering from  her  faint  by  his  exertions,  "  what  have  I  done 
to  you,  wicked  Knight,  that  you  call  your  Northern  spectres 
to  my  side  ;  and  with  your  horrid  magic  frighten  me  to 
death  ?  " 

"  Dame,"  answered  Froda,  "  so  help  me  God,  I  did  not 
call  this  mysterious  lady,  who  has  just  appeared  to  us.  But 
her  will  I  now  know  full  well  ;  and  so  I  recommend  you  to 
God's  keeping." 

With  this,  he  walked  thoughtfully  out  of  the  grove. 

In  affright,  Hildegardis  fled  on  the  other  side,  from  the 
sombre  gloom  of  the  leaves,  and  stept  forth  on  a  fair 
open  green,  where  Edwald,  in  the  fine  glow  of  twilight, 
was  plucking  flowers  ;  and,  with  friendly  smiles,  he  offered 
her  a  nosegay  of  narcissuses  and  sensitive  violets. 


244  fouque. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  day  appointed  for  the  Tournament  had  now  arrived  ; 
and  a  great  Duke,  commissioned  as  deputy  by  the  Emperor, 
arranged  all  things  in  the  lordliest  and  most  splendid  fashion 
for  the  solemn  festival.  Large,  and  level,  and  beautiful 
shaped,  lay  the  jousting-ground  ;  strewed  with  the  finest 
sand,  that  man  and  horse  might  have  proper  footing  on  it; 
and  glancing  forth  almost  like  a  pure  field  of  snow  in  the 
middle  of  the  green  lea.  Rich  cloths  of  silk  from  Arabia, 
decorated  in  curious  interlacings  with  Indian  gold,  hung 
many-colored  over  the  lists  inclosing  the  space,  and  flowed 
down  from  the  high  scaffoldings  erected  for  ladies  and 
princely  spectators.  At  the  upper  end,  under  a  canopy  of 
golden  arches,  tastefully  and  boldly  crossed  and  combined, 
was  Hildegardis's  station.  Green  garlands  and  wreaths 
waved  gracefully  between  the  glittering  pillars,  in  the  fine 
July  air  ;  and,  with  impatient  eyes,  the  crowding  multitude 
outside  the  lists  looked  up  to  this,  expecting  the  sight  of  the 
fairest  maiden  in  Germany  ;  and  only  now  and  then  drawn 
some  other  way  by  the  stately  entrance  of  men-at-arms, 
riding  gallantly  through  the  barriers.  O  !  how  many  bright 
harnesses,  and  richly  embroidered  cloaks  of  satin,  and  high- 
waving  plumes,  were  to  be  seen  there  that  day  !  The  lordly 
host,  saluting  each  other  and  speaking  together,  swayed  this 
way  and  that,  on  the  ground  within  the  lists,  like  a  flower- 
bed stirred  by  the  breath  of  the  air;  but  a  bed  where  the 
stalks  had  grown  to  trees,  and  the  yellow  and  white  leaves  had 
bloomed  into  gold  and  silver,  and  the  dew-drops  had  har- 
dened into  pearls  and  diamonds.  For  whatever  was  beau- 
tiful and  precious  in  the  world  these  noble  gentlemen 
had  tastefully  and  variedly  expended  on  the  glory  of  that 
day. 


aslauga's  knight.  245 

Many  eyes  were  turned  on  Froda,  who,  without  scarf,  or 
plume,  or  cloak,  with  his  silver-gleaming  cuirass,  and 
Aslauga's  golden  figure  on  it,  and  his  well- wrought  helmet 
of  golden  locks,  glittered  from  amid  the  crowd  like  polished 
brass.  Others  also  there  were,  that  found  their  enjoyment 
in  looking  at  young  Edwald,  who  wore  a  cloak  of  white 
satin,  fringed  with  azure  and  silver,  almost  covering  his 
whole  armor ;  and  a  large  plume  of  swan-white  feathers, 
overflowing  his  whole  helmet.  To  view  him,  he  seemed 
decorated  with  almost  feminine  grace  ;  and  yet  the  rare 
force  with  which  he  managed  his  wild  white  steed  an- 
nounced the  victorious  strength  of  this  tender  hero. 

In  strange  contrast  with  these  two  was  a  giant  shape  in 
armor,  dressed  in  a  cloak  of  black,  shining  bearskin, 
trimmed  with  fine  fur,  without  any  ornament  of  clear  metal 
whatever  ;  even  his  helmet  was  overlaid  with  black  bear- 
skin ;  and,  instead  of  plumes,  a  mane  of  blood-red  horse-hair 
streamed  copiously  down  on  all  sides  from  it.  Froda  and 
Edwald  knew  the  dark  Knight  well ;  it  was  their  uncivil 
guest  in  the  inn  ;  and  he  likewise  seemed  to  recognize  the 
two  friends;  for  he  whirled  hfs  horse  abruptly  round, 
pressed  through  the  crowd  of  fighters,  and,  after  speaking 
some  time  at  the  lists  with  an  ugly,  brass-colored  old  wo- 
man, sprang  over  the  enclosure  with  a  wild  leap,  and,  dart- 
ing off  like  an  arrow,  vanished  out  of  sight.  The  old  woman 
nodded  after  him  with  a  friendly  gesture  ;  the  multitude 
laughed,  as  at  a  strange  Carnival  show  ;  and  Edwald  and 
Froda  had  their  own  almost  frightsome  thoughts  on  the 
matter;  which,  however,  they  did  not  see  meet  to  impart  to 
each  other. 

The  kettledrums  rolled,  the  trumpets  sounded  ;  leaning  on 
the  old   Duke's  arm,    Hildegardis,  richly   attired,  more  re- 
splendent still  in  all  the  brightness  of  her  own  beauty,  stept 
forward,  under  the  arching  of  the  golden   bower  and  ccurt- 
21* 


246  fouque. 

esied  to  the  assembly.  The  Knights  bowed  their  heads  to 
the  ground,  and  perhaps  in  every  one  of  their  hearts  this 
thought  might  be  beating  :  "  There  is  no  man  on  Earth  that 
can  merit  so  royal  a  bride."  While  Froda  bowed,  it  seemed 
to  him  the  golden  light  of  Aslauga's  tresses  glanced  over  his 
eye  ;  and  his  heart  was  proud  and  gay,  that  his  mistress 
held  him  worthy  to  be  put  in  mind  of  her  so  often. 

The  Tournament  began.  At  first,  the  trial  was  with 
blunt  swords  and  battle-axes ;  then  man  to  man,  with 
lances  ;  and,  finally,  the  whole  host  parted  into  two  equal 
bodies,  and  commenced  a  universal  fight,  in  which  it  stood 
with  every  one  to  use  sword  or  spear,  as  he  pleased. 

Froda  and  Edwald  had  alike  gained  the  prize  over  their 
rivals  ;  as  each,  justly  estimating  his  own  and  his  friend's 
courageous  force,  had  in  some  degree  anticipated  ;  and 
now  the  two  were  to  decide,  by  a  match  at  running  with 
the  lance,  to  whom  the  highest  crown  of  victory  belonged. 
Before  commencing,  they  rode  slowly  into  the  middle  of 
the  course  together,  and  settled  where  they  were  to  take 
their  places. 

"Keep  thy  inspiring  star  firmly  in  thy  eye,1'  smiled  Froda. 
w  I,  too,  shall  not  want  the  like  gracious  help." 

Edwald  looked  round  with  astonishment  to  see  the  mis- 
tress whom  his  friend  seemed  to  have  in  view,  and  the 
latter  continued  : 

"I  did  wrong  to  conceal  aught  from  thee;  but  after  the 
jousting,  thou  shalt  know  all.  For  the  present,  heed  not 
unnecessary  thoughts,  dear  Edkin,  and  sit  firm,  firm  in  thy 
saddle  ;  for  I  tell  thee,  I  will  run  with  all  my  force  ;  seeing 
it  is  not  my  own  honor  only  that  is  at  stake,  but  the  far 
higher  honor  of  my  lady." 

"In  such  wise  I  also  purpose  to  do,"  said  Edwald  kindly. 
They  shook  hands,  and  then  rode  to  their  places. 

At  the  pealing  of  the  trumpets,  the  friends,  dashing  for- 


aslauga's  knight.  247 

ward  quick  as  arrows,  again  met  together.  Their  lances 
shivered  into  splinters ;  the  horses  staggered  ;  the  Knights, 
unmoved  in  their  stirrups,  plucked  them  up,  and  rode  back 
to  their  stations. 

When  the  signal  was  given  for  another  course,  Edwald's 
white  steed  snorted,  wild  and  affrighted  ;  Froda's  strong 
chesnut  reared  into  the  air.  It  was  clear  that  the  two  noble 
animals  both  dreaded  a  second  hard  encounter ;  but  the 
Knights  held  them  firm  with  bit  and  spur,  and,  at  a  new 
call  of  the  trumpets,  they  again  thundered  forward,  fierce 
and  obedient.  Edwald  had,  with  a  deep,  glowing  look  anew 
impressed  his  soul  with  the  beauty  of  his  mistress ;  at  the 
moment  of  meeting,  he  cried  aloud:  "Hildegardis  !  "  and 
so  hard  did  his  lance  strike  his  valiant  adversary,  that  the 
latter  sank  back  on  the  haunches  of  his  horse,  with  diffi- 
culty kept  his  saddle,  and  scarcely  continued  stirrup-fast; 
while  Edwald,  without  wavering,  dashed  by ;  lowered  his 
spear  in  salutation  as  he  passed  Hildegardis's  bower;  and 
then,  amid  the  loud  huzzaing  of  the  multitude,  galloped  to 
his  place  for  the  third  course.  Ah  !  Hildergardis  herself  had 
greeted  him  with  blushes  and  kind  looks,  in  her  surprise  ; 
and  he  felt  as  if  the  intoxicating  bliss  of  this  victory  were 
already  won. 

Won,  however,  it  was  not ;  for  the  noble  Froda,  glowing 
with  warlike  shame,  was  again  taming  his  frighted  horse, 
and  chastising  it  with  sharp  strokes  of  his  spurs,  for  the 
share  it  had  borne  in  this  mischief.  At  the  same  time  he 
said  in  a  low  voice  :  "  Dear,  fair  mistress,  show  thyself  visi- 
bly to  me  ;  it  concerns  thy  name's  honor." 

To  all  other  persons  it  seemed  as  if  a  rosy,  golden  sum- 
mer cloud  were  flitting  over  the  deep  blue  sky  ;  but  Froda 
looked  into  the  heavenly  face  of  his  mistress;  felt  himself, 
as  it  were,  fanned  by  her  golden  tresses;  and  "Aslauga!" 
cried  he,  and  the  Knights  rushed  together;  and  far  from, 
his  horse  flew  Edwald,  down  upon  the  dusty  course. 


248  fou^ue. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Froda,  in  knightly  fashion,  first  for  a  space  continued  in 
motionless  stillness ;  as  if  waiting  to  see  whether  any  one 
yet  thought  of  contesting  him  the  victory ;  and,  on  his 
mailed  horse,  he  looked  almost  like  a  lofty  statue  of  metal. 
All  around,  the  people  stood  silent  in  abashed  astonishment; 
and  as  they  did  break  out  in  the  cry  of  triumph,  he  beck- 
oned solemnly  with  his  hand,  and  all  were  again  dumb. 
Then,  with  a  light  bound,  he  was  out  of  his  saddle,  and 
hastened  to  the  place  where  the  fallen  Edwald  was  rising. 
He  pressed  him  closely  to  his  heart ;  led  his  white  steed 
to  him,  and  insisted  on  holding  the  stirrup  as  he  mounted. 
Then  he  himself  again  sprang  on  horseback  also,  and  rode 
by  the  side  of  Edwald  to  Hildegardis's  gold  bower ;  where, 
with  lowered  spear,  and  lifted  visor,  he  thus  spoke: 

"Fairest  of  all  living  women,  I  bring  you  here  Edwald, 
your  knightly  bridegroom,  before  whose  lance  and  sword 
all  the  heroes  of  this  Tournament  have  yielded,  I  excepted, 
to  whom  the  lordly  jewel  of  the  victory  can  nowise  belong ; 
seeing,  as  the  figure  on  my  cuirass  shows,  [  already  serve 
another  mistress." 

The  Duke  was  on  the  point  of  stepping  forward  to  the 
two  Knights,  to  conduct  them  up  to  the  bower ;  but  a  sign 
from  Hildegardis  restrained  him  ;  and  she  said,  with  angry, 
agitated  looks : 

"Then  it  seems,  my  Danish  Knight,  Sir  Froda,  you  serve 
your  lady  ill ;  for,  even  now,  you  have  openly  called  me 
the  fairest  of  living  women." 

"This  I  did,"  answered  Froda,  with  a  courteous  bow, 
"because  my  fair  mistress  belongs  to  the  dead." 

A  slight  horror  breathed  through  the  multitude  at  these 
words,  and  through  Hildegardis's  heart ;  but  soon  the  anger 


aslauga's  knight.  249 

of  the  virgin  again  flamed  up,  and  the  more,  as  the  lordliest 
and  most  wondrous  knight  whom  she  knew  despised  her  for 
the  sake  of  one  dead. 

"I  make  known  to  all,"  cried  she,  with  solemn  earnest- 
ness, "  that  by  the  just  will  of  my  Imperial  uncle,  this  hand 
can  belong  to  no  vanquished  man,  how  noble  and  renowned 
soever  he  may  otherwise  have  appeared.  And  as  the  con- 
queror in  this  Tournament  is  bound  by  service  elsewhere, 
this  battle  must  for  me  be  accounted  no  battle,  and  I  go 
hence  as  I  came,  a  free,  unaflianced  maid." 

The  Duke  seemed  desirous  of  remonstrating ;  but  she 
turned  proudly  from  him,  and  left  the  bower.  At  this  in- 
stant, a  sharp,  unexpected  gust  of  air  laid  hold  of  the  green 
garlands  and  wreaths,  and  threw  their  ravelled  and  rustling 
festoons  after  her  ;  wherein  the  people,  dissatisfied  with  her 
haughtiness,  thought  they  saw  a  threatening  omen  ;  and  so, 
with  murmurs  of  derisive  approval,  they  dispersed. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

The  two  Knights  had  returned,  in  deep  silence,  to  their 
apartments.  Arrived  there,  Edwald  had  himself  dishar- 
nessed  ;  he  placed  all  the  pieces  of  his  fair,  bright  armor 
carefully  together,  with  a  kind  exactness,  almost  as  if  he 
were  burying  a  beloved  friend  that  was  dead.  Then  he 
beckoned  his  squires  to  leave  the  chamber,  took  his  lute  in 
his  arm,  and  sang  this  little  song  to  its  notes  : 

"  Who 's  this  thou  art  laying 

In  grave  so  still  ? 
My  wild,  my  unstaying, 

And  fro  ward  will. 
Sleep  soundly,  thou  will,  in  thy  narrow  bedl 
My  hope  sleeps  with  thee,  *t  is  cold  and  dead," 


250  FOUQCE. 

"  Thou  wilt  make  me  hate  thy  lute,"  said  Froda  :  "  do 
now  accustom  it  to  merrier  touches.  It  is  far  too  good  for 
a  passing-bell,  and  thou,  in  sooth,  for  such  a  bellman.  I  tell 
thee,  my  young  hero,  it  will  all  be  right,  and  as  it  should 
be." 

Edvvald  looked  in  his  face  with  astonishment  for  a  while, 
then  answered  kindly  :  "  No,  dear  Froda,  if  it  offends  thee, 
I  will  surely  not  sing  again."  However,  he  struck  a  few 
tones  from  the  lute,  which  sounded  infinitely  tender  and  lov- 
ing. Then  the  Northman,  much  moved,  caught  him  in  his 
arms,  and  said  :  "  Dear  Edkin,  sing,  and  speak,  and  do 
whatever  pleases  thee  ;  to  me  it  will  always  be  delightful. 
But  thou  mayest  believe  it  well,  when  I  say  to  thee,  with 
no  unaided  knowledge,  that  thy  sorrow  must  end  ;  whether 
to  death  or  life  I  yet  see  not,  but  great,  surpassing  joy  does 
await  thee,  for  certain."  Firm  and  cheerful  Edvvald  rose 
from  his  s^at.  grasped  his  companion's  arm,  and  stept  out 
with  him,  through  blooming  shrubberies,  into  the  airy  cool- 
ness of  twilight. 

At  this  same  hour,  an  old  woman,  disguised  in  much  su- 
perfluous apparel,  was  proceeding,  under  secret  guidance, 
to  the  fair  Hildegardis's  chamber.  The  woman  was  swarthy 
and  singular  to  look  upon  ;  by  many  feats  of  art,  she  had 
collected  about  her  a  part  of  the  multitude  returning  from 
the  Tournament,  and,  in  the  end,  had  scared  them  all 
asunder  in  wild  horror.  Before  this  last  occurrence,  Hilde- 
gardis's girdle-maid  had  hastened  to  her  mistress,  to  en- 
tertain her  with  the  strange,  merry,  conjuring  tricks  of 
the  old  brass-colored  woman  ;  and  the  ladies  of  the  suite, 
striving  to  banish  the  chagrin  of  their  disconsolate  Princess, 
bade  the  messenger  call  in  the  crone.  Hildegardis  assented, 
hoping  thereby  to  divert  the  attention  of  her  maidens  from 
herself;  and  so  be  permitted,  with  more  deep  and  earnest 
attention,  to  watch  the  varying  forms  that  were  flitting  in 
confusion  through  her  mind. 


251 

Hildegardis's  maid  found  the  place  already  empty,  and 
the  old  brass-colored  stranger  standing  in  the  middle  of  it, 
laughing  immoderately.  Being  questioned,  the  woman  did 
not  hesitate  to  tell  how  she  had,  in  a  twinkling,  disguised 
herself  in  the  shape  of  a  huge  owl,  and,  in  screeching  words, 
informed  the  spectators  that  she  was  the  Devil,  whereupon 
every  one  of  them  had  with  loud  shrieks  run  off  for  home. 

The  maid  felt  frightened  at  the  thought  of  such  hateful 
jesting  ;  yet  she  durst  not  go  back  to  ask  new  orders  from  her 
mistress,  having  already  noticed  the  bad  humor  she  was  in. 
Therefore  she  satisfied  herself  with  enjoining  on  the  old 
woman,  under  many  promises  and  threats,  the  strictest 
charges  to  behave  herself  with  proper  discreetness  and 
good-manners  in  the  Castle ;  and  then  led  her  in  by  the 
most  secret  paths,  that  none  of  those  she  had  just  frightened 
might  notice  her. 

The  crone  now  appeared  before  Hildegardis ;  and,  in 
the  midst  of  a  deep,  humble  courtesy,  nodded  to  her,  in  a 
strange,  confidential  wise,  as  if  the  two  had  been  concerned 
in  some  mutual  secret.  The  Princess  involuntarily  shrunk 
together  at  this  movement ;  yet,  hideous  as  the  old  woman's 
face  appeared  to  her,  she  could  not  for  a  moment  turn  away 
her  eyes  from  it.  To  the  rest,  the  expectations  they  had 
placed  on  the  old  woman  seemed  by  no  means  repaid ;  in 
truth,  she  played  nothing  but  the  most  ordinary  tricks,  and 
told  stories,  known  to  every  one  ;  so  that  even  the  girdle- 
maid  grew  wearied  and  indifferent,  and  felt  no  little  shame 
at  having  recommended  her.  She  accordingly  soon  glided 
out  unobserved,  and  several  of  the  maidens  followed  her  ex- 
ample ;  and  still,  as  any  one  of  them  withdrew,  the  old 
crone  twisted  her  mouth  into  a  smile,  and  repeated  that  hate- 
fully confidential  nod.  Hildegardis  could  not  understand 
what  attraction  it  was  that  she  felt  to  the  jests  and  stories  of 
this  brass-colored  woman  ;  but  so  it  was,  in  her  whole  life 


252  fou^ue. 

she  had  never  listened  to  any  one  with  such  attention.  The 
crone  went  on  narrating  and  narrating,  and  the  night  was 
already  looking  dark  through  the  windows ;  but  the  maidens 
who  were  still  with  Hildegardis  had  all  sunk  into  deep 
sleep,  and  forgotten  to  light  tapers  in  the  chamber. 

Then,  in  the  sombre  hour  of  dusk,  this  swart  old  woman 
rose  from  the  stool  where  she  had  hitherto  been  sitting,  and 
just  as  if  she  now  felt  at  her  ease  and  at  home,  stept  for- 
ward to  Hildegardis,  who  was  stupefied  with  horror ;  sat 
down  beside  her  on  her  purple  couch,  clasped  her,  with 
odious  caresses,  in  her  long,  withered  arms,  and  whispered 
some  words  in  her  ear.  The  Princess  felt  as  if  some  one 
were  pronouncing  Froda's  and  Edwald's  name,  both  at  once, 
and  the  sound  of  them  seemed  to  change  into  a  melody  of 
flutes;  which,  clear  and  silvery  as  its  warblings  were,  never- 
theless lulled  her  as  into  a  sleep  ;  she  could  move  her  limbs 
indeed,  but  only  to  follow  the  music,  which  wove  as  it  were 
a  veil  of  silver  net-work  around  the  hideous  form  of  the 
crone.  And  the  latter  walked  from  the  chambers,  and  Hil- 
degardis after  her,  through  her  sleeping  maidens,  singing  all 
the  way  in  a  low,  small  voice  :  "Ye  maidens,  ye  maidens, I 
wander  at  night." 

Outside  the  Castle  was  the  giant  Bohemian,  in  his  bear- 
skin cloak,  waiting  with  squire  and  groom,  all  ready  mount- 
ed. He  laid  a  heavy  bag  of  money  on  the  crone's  shoul- 
ders, so  that  she  sank,  half-whimpering,  half-laughing,  to  the 
around  ;  then  he  lifted  the  dreaming  Hildegardis  on  his 
horse,  and  galloped  off  with  her  in  silence,  into  the  deepen- 
ing gloom  of  the  night. 

CHAPTER  X. 

"  Ye  bold  lords  and  knights,  who  yesterday  contended  in 
honor   for  the   prize  of  your  arms,  the  fair  Hildegardis's 


aslauga's  knight.  253 

hand  !  Arise  !  Arise  !  Saddle  your  steeds,  and  away  !     The 
fair  Hildegardis  is  stolen  !  " 

So  next  morning,  in  the  clear  redness  of  dawn,  were 
many  heralds  crying  through  castle  and  town  ;  and  on  every 
side  were  knights  and  noble  squires  dashing  forth  in  clouds 
of  dust,  by  all  the  roads,  along  which,  lately  in  the  fair 
twilight,  Hildegardis  had,  in  silent  pride,  seen  her  many 
suitors  advancing. 

Two,  whom  you  well  knew,  proceeded  in  inseparable 
companionship  on  this  occasion,  as  before ;  but  whether 
they  were  on  the  right  track  or  not,  they  knew  as  little  as 
the  rest  ;  for  how,  and  when,  the  adored  mistress  could 
have  vanished  from  her  chambers,  was  still  to  the  whole 
Court  a  frightful,  inexplicable  riddle. 

Edwald  and  Froda  had  travelled  on  so  long  as  the  sun 
moved  over  their  heads,  unresting  as  he  ;  and  now  when  he 
was  sinking  in  the  waves  of  the  river,  they  thought  to  gain 
the  race  of  him,  and  again  spurred  their  wearied  horses  ; 
but  the  noble  animals  staggered  and  moaned,  and  there  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  let  them  feed  a  little  on  the  grassy 
sward.  Certain  of  bringing  them  again  at  the  first  call,  the 
knights  freed  them  of  curb  and  snaffle,  and  sent  them  off  to 
graze  at  freedom,  and  drink  in  the  blue,  fresh  Mayn  ;  they 
themselves,  in  the  mean  while,  resting  under  the  boughs  of  a 
neighboring  alder-tree. 

And,  deep  in  the  cool,  dark  shades,  rose  a  gleam  as  of  a 
mild  but  clear-glittering  light,  and  checked  Froda's  utter- 
ance, who  was,  even  now,  preparing  to  acquaint  his  friend 
of  his  plighted  service  to  the  fair  Aslauga  ;  having  hitherto 
been  hindered  from  it,  first  by  Edwald's  sadness,  and  then 
by  his  impatience  in  travelling.  Ah  !  this  soft,  lovely,  gold 
light  was  well  known  to  Froda.  ."  Let  us  follow  it,  Edkin," 
said  he,  in  a  low  voice  ;  "and  let  the  horses,  in  the  mean 
while,  rest  and  graze."     Edwald,  without  answering,  did  as 

vol.  i.  22 


254  fouque. 

his  companion  advised.  An  inward  voice,  half-sweet,  half- 
fearful,  seemed  to  tell  him  that  here  was  the  path  to  Hilde- 
gardis,  and  the  sole  path  that  led  to  her.  Once  only  he  said, 
with  a  tone  of  surprise  :  u  I  never  saw  the  twilight  glance 
so  beautifully  on  the  leaves  as  it  is  doing  now."  Froda 
shook  his  head  and  smiled,  and  they  pursued  in  silence  their 
secret  track. 

On  issuing  from  the  other  side  of  the  alder-wood,  at  the 
shore  of  the  Mayn,  which  almost  encircled  it  by  a  sweeping 
turn,  Edwald  saw  well  that  some  other  brightness  than  that 
of  twilight  was  shining  on  them  ;  for  the  night  already  hung 
in  cloudy  darkness  in  the  sky,  and  their  guiding  beam  stop- 
ped at  the  strand  of  the  river.  The  waves  were  sufficiently 
enlightened  by  it,  to  expose  to  view  a  little  woody  island  in 
the  middle  of  the  stream,  and  a  boat  on  this  side  fastened 
to  a  stake.  But  on  approaching  the  spot,  the  Knights  de- 
scried new  objects.  A  troop  of  horsemen,  of  strange,  for- 
eign shape,  all  in  deep  slumber  ;  and,  reclining  on  cushions 
in  the  midst  of  them,  a  sleeping  female  dressed  in  while. 

11  Hildegardis  ! "  smiled  Edwald  to  himself,  in  scarcely- 
audible  tones;  at  the  same  time  he  drew  his  sword,  making 
ready  for  battle,  if  so  were,  the  robbers  might  awaken  ;  and 
beckoned  to  Froda  to  lift  the  sleeping  lady,  and  bring  her 
to  a  place  of  safety.  But  at  that  instant,  something  in  the 
figure  of  an  owl  passed  whirring  over  the  black  squadron  ; 
and,  with  a  sudden  rattling  clang,  they  all  started  up,  and 
flew  with  hideous  howling  to  arms.  A  tumultuous,  unequal 
battle  rose  in  the  darkness,  for  the  friendly  gleam  had  van- 
ished. Froda  and  Edwald  were  parted  in  the  press,  and 
could  only  hear  each  other's  stout  war-cry  from  a  far  dis- 
tance. Hildegardis,  roused  from  her  enchanted  sleep,  not 
knowing  whether  she  was  dreaming  or  awake,  fled  with 
bewildered  senses,  and  bitterly  weeping,  into  the  deepest 
shades  of  the  alders. 


255 


CHAPTER  XL 

Froda  felt  his  arm  growing  weary,  and  the  warm  blood 
running  down  from  two  wounds  in  his  shoulder.  Therefore 
he  determined  so  to  die,  that  he  might  mount  up  with  honor 
from  his  bloody  grave  to  the  high  mistress  whom  he  served  ; 
and  throwing  his  shield  backwards,  he  grasped  the  handle  of 
his  sword  with  both  hands,  and  rushed  with  a  loud  war-shout 
on  the  terrified  enemy.  Immediately  he  heard  some  voices 
crying :  "  It  is  the  Northland  fury  that  is  coming  on  him  ! 
The  battle-madness !  "  And  the  host,  in  affright,  darted 
asunder,  and  the  wearied  hero  remained  in  his  wounds  alone 
in  the  darkness. 

Then  once  more  Aslauga's  gold  hair  gleamed  in  the 
shades  of  the  wood;  and  Froda,  exhausted  and  leaning  on 
his  sword,  looked  towards  it,  and  said  :  "  I  think  not  that  I 
am  yet  wounded  to  death  ;  but  when  it  does  come  to  this, 
then,  O  beloved  mistress  !  then,  of  a  surety,  thou  wilt  like- 
wise appear  to  me  in  all  thy  loveliness  and  splendor  ?  "  A 
low  "  Yes  "  came  breathing  over  his  cheeks,  and  the  gold 
light  vanished. 

But  now  Hildegardis,  almost  fainting,  staggered  forth 
from  the  thickets,  and  said,  with  a  feeble  voice  :  "  Within  is 
the  frightfully  fair  Northland  spectre,  and  without  is  the 
battle  !     O  good  God  !  whither  shall  I  turn  ?  " 

Then  Froda  went  towards  her  with  soothing  gestures, 
was  about  to  say  many  comforting  words  to  her,  and  to  ask 
concerning  Edwald,  when  suddenly  the  sound  of  armor,  and 
wild  shouts,  gave  notice  that  the  Bohemian  robbers  were 
returning  to  the  charge.  Froda  hastily  conducted  the 
maiden  to  the  boat ;  pushed  it  off  from  the  shore  ;  and 
rowed  with  the  last  effort  of  his  strength  to  reach  the 
woody  island,  which  he  had  before  seen  in  the  middle  of  the 


256  fouque. 

river.  But  the  robbers  had  lit  torches  ;  they  waved  them 
sparkling  this  way  and  that ;  and  by  their  light  discovered 
the  boat,  as  well  as  that  their  dreaded  Danish  enemy  was 
wounded  ;  and  from  this,  new  courage  rose  in  their  plunder- 
ing hearts.  Froda,  before  he  reached  the  island,  had  heard 
a  Bohemian  on  the  other  side  coming  down  with  a  fresh 
skiff,  then  a  crowd  of  the  foe  getting  into  it,  and  beginning 
to  pull  after  him. 

M  To  the  wood,  fair  virgin  !  "  whispered  he,  so  soon  as  he 
had  helped  Hildegardis  ashore.  "  Hide  yourself  there, 
while  I  try  to  keep  the  robbers  from  landing. " 

But  Hildegardis  clung  fast  to  his  arm,  and  whispered  in 
reply  :  "  Did  I  not  see  you  stained  in  your  blood,  and  pale  ? 
And  would  you  that  1  die  of  terror  in  the.  solitary  clefts  of 
this  dark  hill  ?  Ah  !  and  if  your  Northland  gold-haired 
lady-spirit  were  to  come  again,  and  sit  down  by  me  —  O 
think  you,  I  do  not  see  how  she  shines  there  through  the 
bushes  even  now  ?  " 

"  She  shines  I  "  repeated  Froda  ;  and  new  force  and 
hope  ran  through  his  veins.  He  mounted  the  ascent,  follow- 
ing the  kind  gleam  ;  and  though  Hildegardis  trembled  at  it, 
she  willingly  accompanied  her  guide;  only  now  and  then 
whispering,  in  an  anxious  voice:  "  Ah,  Knight!  my  high, 
wondrous  Knight  !  do  not  leave  me  alone  here  !  It  would  be 
my  death  !  "  Soothing  her  with  friendly  encouragements, 
he  walked  on  faster  and  faster,  through  the  hollows  and 
darkness  of  the  wood  ;  for  he  already  heard  the  sound  of 
the  robbers  landing  on  the  shore  of  the  island. 

Suddenly  he  found  himself  at  the  mouth  of  a  cave, 
thickly  covered  with  bushes  ;  and  the  gleam  vanished. 
"  Here,  then ! "  whispered  he,  endeavoring  to  hold  the 
branches  asunder,  that  Hildegardis  might  enter  more  easily. 
She  paused  for  a  moment,  and  said  : 

"  If  you  were  to  let   go   the   branches  again    behind  me, 


aslauga's  knight.  257 

and  I  were  to  be  left  alone  with  spectres  in  the  cave !  —  Oh 
Heaven  !  —  But,  Froda,  no  doubt  you  will  follow  me,  poor, 
frightened,  hunted  creature,  will  you  not  IV 

In  this  confidence  she  stepped  through  the  boughs  ;  and 
Froda,  who  could  have  wished  to  remain  as  sentry,  followed 
her.  With  strained  ear  he  hearkened  through  the  stillness 
of  the  night ;  Hildegardis  durst  scarcely  draw  her  breath. 
The  clanging  of  an  armed  footstep  approached  nearer 
and  nearer,  close  by  the  mouth  of  the  cave  ;  and  Froda 
endeavored  in  vain  to  get  loose  of  the  trembling  maiden. 
The  branches  at  the  entrance  were  crashing  and  breaking. 
Froda  sighed  heavily  :  "  So  I  must  fall  here,  like  a  lurking 
fugitive,  with  women's  veils  floating  round  me  !  O  God  !  it 
is  a  sorry  end  !  But  can  I  cast  away  from  me  this  half- 
fainting  form,  and  let  her  sink  upon  the  dark,  hard  ground  ? 
Perhaps  down  into  an  abyss  ?  Well,  be  then  what  must  be ! 
Thou,  Aslauga,  my  mistress,  knowest  that  I  die  in  honor  ! M 

"  Froda !  Hildegardis !  n  said  a  soft,  well-known  voice,  at 
the  entrance  of  the  cavern  ;  and,  recognizing  Edwald,  Froda, 
with  glad  readiness,  carried  out  the  Princess  into  the  star- 
light; "  She  is  dying  in  our  hands  for  terror,'1  said  he,  "in 
this  black  chasm.     Are  the  enemy  near?  " 

"  Most  part  of  them  are  lying  dead  on  the  shore,  or 
floating  in  their  blood  among  the  waves.  Lay  aside  anxiety, 
and  rest  yourselves.     Art  thou  wounded,  dear  Froda?  n 

In  answer  to  the  questions  of  his  astonished  friends,  he 
then  briefly  related,  how,  passing  in  the  dark  for  a  Bohe- 
mian knight,  he  had  stept  into  the  skiff  with  the  rest  ;  after 
which,  on  landing,  he  had  found  no  difficulty  in  entirely 
confounding  the  robbers;  who,  seeing  themselves  attacked 
from  the  middle  of  their  own  troop,  had  imagined  that  they 
were  bewitched.  "  At  last,"  thus  he  ended  his  narrative, 
"  they  set  to  cutting  down  each  other  ;  and  now  we  have 
only  to  wait  for  morning,  to  begin  our  journey  home  with 
22* 


258 


FOUQUE. 


the  Princess.     For  what  of  the  owl-squadron  still  flits   about 
will  of  itself  hide  in  daylight." 

While  relating  these  things,  he  had  been  preparing,  with 
great  care  and  daintiness,  a  bed  of  twigs  and  moss  for 
Hildegardis;  and  the  wearied  lady  having,  with  some 
gentle  words  of  thanks,  soon  fallen  asleep,  he  began  to 
dress  his  friend's  wounds,  as  well  as  the  darkness  would 
permit. 

During  this  earnest  occupation,  under  the  moaning  of  the 
high,  dark  trees,  with  the  voice  of  the  river-waves  murmuring 
from  a  distance,  Froda,  in  a  low  voice,  informed  his  knight- 
ly brother  what  mistress  it  was  that  he  served.  Ed\vald 
listened  in  deep  thought,  but  at  last  said  : 

"  Believe  me,  however,  the  lofty  Princess  Aslauga  will 
not  be  wroth  with  thee,  though  thou  bind  thyself  in  true  love 
with  this  earthly  fair  one.  Ah  !  surely  even  now  thou  art 
shining  in  the  dreams  of  Hildegardis,  thou  richly-gifted, 
happy  hero  !  I  will  not  stand  in  thy  way  with  my  foolish 
wishes ;  it  is  clear  enough  that  she  can  never,  never  love 
me.  Therefore  this  very  day  will  I  set  forth  to  join  the 
war,  which  so  many  bold  German  knights  are  waging  in  the 
heathen  land  of  Prussia  ;  and  the  black  cross,  which  makes 
them  priestly  warriors,  I  will  lay,  as  the  surest  remedy,  on 
my  beating  heart.  And  do  thou,  dear  Froda,  take  the  fair 
hand  which  thou  hast  won  in  knightly  battle,  and  lead  a  life 
of  happiness  and  satisfaction  without  example." 

"  Edwald,"  said  Froda,  in  a  serious  tone,  "  this  is  the 
first  time  I  ever  heard  a  word  from  thy  mouth,  which  an 
honest  follower  of  knighthood  could  not  turn  to  action.  Do 
thou  towards  the  fair,  haughty  Hildegardis  according  to  thy 
pleasure  ;  but  Aslauga  remains  my  mistress,  and  no  other 
will  I  serve  in  life  or  death." 

At  this  rigorous  answer  the  youth  felt  as  it  were  rebuked, 
and   was  silent ;  and    the  two,  without  farther  speech,    sat 


259 

watching  throughout  the   night  in  their  own  solemn  contem- 
plations. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Next  morning,  scarcely  had  the  sun,  bright  and  smiling, 
scattered  his  first  radiance  over  the  flowery  plains  round  Hil- 
degardis's  castle,  when  the  watchman  blew  a  merry  air  on  his 
silver  horn  ;  for,  with  his  falcon  eyes,  he  had  already  from  a 
far  distance  recognized  the  Princess,  as  she  came  riding 
along  between  her  two  deliverers.  And  from  castle,  and 
town,  and  hamlet,  gay  crowds  issued  forth,  hastening  to  wit- 
ness the  glad  arrival. 

Hildegardis  turned  on  Edwald  her  eyes,  shining  through 
tears,  and  said  :  "  Had  it  not  been  for  you,  young  hero, 
all  these  kind  people  might  have  sought  long  and  vainly 
before  finding  me  in  my  distress,  and  before  tracing  out  the 
noble  Froda,  who  doubtless  must  now  have  been  lying  dumb 
and  cold,  a  bloody,  mangled  corpse,  in  the  dark  cleft  of  the 
rocks." 

Edwald  bowed  humbly,  but  persisted  in  his  usual  silence  ; 
nay,  it  seemed  as  if  some  unwonted  sorrow  repressed  even 
the  friendly  smile,  which  formerly,  in  sweet  gentleness, 
came  over  his  face  so  readily,  at  any  word  of  kindness. 

The  Duke,  Hildegardis's  guardian,  had,  in  the  great  joy 
of  his  heart,  prepared  a  sumptuous  morning  repast,  and 
invited  to  it  all  the  dames  and  knights  who  were  still  there. 
Now,  as  Froda  and  Edwald  were  ascending  the  stair,  in 
shining  pomp,  close  after  Hildegardis,  the  youth  said  in  a 
half  whisper  to  his  friend  : 

"  Thou  canst  indeed  never  more  love  me,  thou  noble, 
steadfast  hero  ?  "  and  as  Froda  looked  at  him  with  astonish- 
ment, he  proceeded  :  "  This  it  is  when  boys  take  it  into  their 


260  Fouqui. 

heads  to  counsel  heroes,  however  well  intended  it  may  be. 
For  now  I  have  sinned  heavily  against  thee,  and  against  thy 
high  mistress  Aslauga  still  more." 

"  Because  thou  wouldst  have  plucked  away  every  flower 
in  the  garden  of  thy  life,  to  give  me  pleasure  ?  "  said  Froda. 
"  No  ;  thou  continuest  my  gentle  brother  in  knighthood  now 
as  before,  dear  Edkin  ;  perhaps  thou  art  grown  still  dearer 
to  me." 

Then  Edwald  again  smiled  in  still  gladness,  like  a  flower 
after  the  morning  rain  in  May. 

The  eyes  of  Hildegardis  glanced  on  him,  mild  and  kindly  ; 
she  often  spoke  with  him  also,  in  benignant  words  and  tones  ; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  since  yesternight,  a  reverent  fear 
seemed  to  withdraw  her  from  Froda.  But  Edwald,  too,  was 
much  altered.  With  whatever  humble  joy  he  accepted  the  con- 
descending favor  of  his  mistress,  it  still  seemed  as  if  there 
stood  something  between  the  two,  which  forbade  his  every, 
even  the  most  distant,  hope  of  happiness  in  love. 

Now,  it  chanced  that  a  noble  Count,  from  the  Emperor's 
Court,  was  announced  ;  who,  being  then  bound  on  a  weighty 
mission,  wished  to  pay  his  reverence  to  the  Princess  in 
passing.  She  received  him  joyfully  ;  and,  directly  after  the 
first  salutations,  looking  at  her  and  Edwald,  he  said  :  "  I 
know  not  if  my  good  fortune  has  guided  me  to  a  most 
pleasant  festival  ?  It  would  be  glad  news  for  the  Emperor 
my  master." 

Hildegardis  and  Edwald  looked  very  lovely  in  their  em- 
barrassed blushing  ;  and  the  Count,  observing  that  he  had 
been  too  hasty,  bowed  humbly  to  the  young  knight,  and 
said  :  "  Pardon  me,  noble  Duke  Edwald,  my  forward  way  ; 
but  I  know  the  wish  of  my  Sovereign,  and  the  hope 
that  this  might  be  already  fulfilled  made  my  tongue  forget 
itself." 

The  eyes  of  all  present  fixed   inquiringly  upon  the  young 


aslauga's  knight.  261 

hero,  who,  with  graceful  embarrassment,  thus  spoke  :  "  It 
is  true,  the  Emperor,  during  my  last  attendance  in  his  Imperi- 
al camp,  had  the  excessive  graciousness  to  make  me  a  Duke. 
My  good  fortune  so  ordered  it,  that,  in  one  of  our  actions,  some 
horsemen  of  the  enemy,  who  had  dared  to  attack  the  sacred 
person  of  our  Sovereign,  fled  away  just  as  I  arrived  at  the 
spot." 

The  Count,  at  Hildegardis's  request,  circumstantially  re- 
lated this  heroic  achievement;  and  it  came  to  light  that 
Edwald  had  not  only  saved  the  Emperor  from  the  most 
imminent  danger ;  but  likewise,  shortly  afterwards  ar- 
ranged, and,  in  the  cool,  daring  spirit  of  a  general, 
victoriously  fought,  the  main  battle  which  decided  the 
war. 

Astonishment  at  first  held  every  one  mute  ;  and  before 
the  congratulations  could  begin,  Hildegardis  turned  to  Ed- 
wald, and  said,  in  a  low  voice,  which,  however,  in  the 
silence,  was  heard  by  all:  "  The  noble  Count  has  expressed 
the  wish  of  my  Imperial  uncle  ;  and  I  now  conceal  it  no 
longer,  my  heart's  wish  is  the  same.  I  am  Duke  Edwald's 
bride." 

With  this,  she  held  out  to  him  her  fair  right  hand  ;  and 
all  present  waited  only  for  his  taking  it,  to  break  forth  in 
loud  approval.  But  Edwald  did  not  do  as  they  expected  ; 
on  the  contrary,  he  sank  on  his  knee  before  the  Princess, 
saying:  "  God  forbid  that  the  lofty  Hildegardis  should  ever 
recall  a  word  which  she  has  solemnly  spoken  before  dames 
and  knights.  To  no  vanquished  man,  you  -said,  could  the 
hand  of  the  Emperor's  niece  belong  ;  and  there  stands  the 
noble  Danish  knight  Froda,  my  conqueror." 

Hildegardis  turned  hastily  away  with  a  slight  blush,  and 
hid  her  eyes;  and  while  Edwald  rose,  it  seemed  as  if  a  tear 
ran  over  his  cheek. 

Clanging  in   his  armor,  Froda  stept  into  the  middle  of  the 


262  FOUQUE. 

hall,  and  exclaimed  :  "  I  declare  my  late  victory  over  Duke 
Edwald  to  be  pure  accident,  and  again  challenge  the  knight- 
ly hero  into  the  lists  to-morrow."  And  so  saying,  he  threw 
down  his  iron  gauntlet,  and  it  rung  on  the  floor. 

But  Edwald  did  not  rise  to  lift  it.  On  the  contrary,  a 
deep  blush  of  anger  glowed  on  his  cheeks,  his  eyes  glanced 
indignantly,  so  that  you  would  scarcely  have  recognized 
him  for  the  same  person ;  and  after  a  pause,  he  said  :  "  No- 
ble Knight,  Sir  Froda,  if  I  erred  towards  you,  we  are  now 
even.  How  could  you,  a  hero  gloriously  wounded  of  two 
sword-cuts,  challenge  a  healthy  man  to-morrow  into  the 
lists,  if  you  did  not  despise  him  ?  " 

"  Pardon  me,  Duke,"  answered  Froda,  somewhat  put  to 
shame,  but  in  all  cheerfulness  ;  "  I  spoke  too  fast.  Not  till 
my  complete  cure  do  I  challenge  you." 

Then  Edwald  joyfully  lifted  the  gauntlet ;  again  knelt 
down  before  Hildegardis,  who,  turning  away  her  face,  held 
him  out  her  fair  right  hand  to  kiss ;  and  then,  arm  in  arm 
with  his  high  Danish  friend,  he  walked  out  of  the  hall. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

While  Froda's  cure  was  proceeding,  Edwald,  impatient 
till  it  were  completed,  went  out  now  and  then,  while  the 
evening  was  darkening  down  deep  and  silent  over  him,  and 
walked  on  the  flowery  terrace  under  Hildegardis's  window, 
singing  graceful  little  dainty  songs,  which  the  maidens  of 
the  Princess  learned  from  him,  and  often  repeated. 

About  this  time  it  happened,  that,  one  night  when  the  two 
friends  were  together,  a  man  who  occupied  the  post  of 
Writer  to  the  old  Duke,  Hildegardis's  guardian,  and  who 
reckoned  himself  a  very  knowing  person,  paid  them  a  visit ; 
for  the  purpose,  as  he  said,  of  making  them  an  humble 
proposal. 


263 

The  short  account  of  the  business  was  this  :  that,  as  it 
was  impossible  for  Froda  to  do  any  good  with  victory,  he 
should  take  his  opportunity,  in  the  approaching  Tournament, 
and  quietly  fall  from  his  horse  ;  in  which  wise  he  might 
with  certainty  secure  to  his  companion  the  hand  of  the 
bride,  and  at  the  same  time  gratify  the  Imperial  will,  a  thing 
that  could  not  but  turn  to  good  profit  for  himself  in  many- 
senses. 

At  this  the  two  friends  in  the  first  place  laughed  very 
heartily  together  ;  then  Froda  stept  up  to  the  Writer,  and 
said,  with  great  seriousness:  "Thee,  little  mannikin,  the 
old  Duke,  if  he  knew  thy  foolish  talk,  would,  in  all  likeli- 
hood, pack  out  of  his  service,  not  once  to  mention  the 
Imperial  will.  But  there  is  a  proverb  you  must  get  by- 
heart  : 

When  knight  with  knight  hath  rode  to  the  lists, 

The  time  is  gone  for  talking  of  jests ; 

When  knight  on  knight  in  the  course  must  dash, 

No  king  or  kaiser  can  stay  the  clash ; 

And  who  pokes  his  nose  in  their  knightly  fray, 

He  has  wished  his  nose  from  that  hour  good-day. 

"And  so  your  servant,  worthy  Sir  !  And  assure  yourself 
that  Edwald  and  I  will  run  at  one  another  in  truth  of  heart, 
with  all  the  force  that  is  in  us." 

The  Writer  vanished  from  the  chamber  in  no  small  haste  ; 
and  it  is  said  that  even  next  morning  he  looked  exceedingly 
pale. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Soon  after  this,  Froda  had  recovered  ;  the  course  was  again 
made  ready  as  before,  only  that  it  was  encircled  by  even 
a  greater  multitude  of  people ;  and,  in  the  freshness  of  the 


264  fouque, 

clear,  dewy  morning,  the  two  heroes  rode  out  solemnly  to- 
gether to  the  battle. 

"  Good  Edwald,"  said  Froda,  in  a  low  voice  by  the  way, 
"  prepare  thyself  beforehand  ;  for  this  time,  too,  the  victory 
will  not  be  thine.  On  that  red,  shining  cloud  stands  As- 
lauga." 

"May  be,"  replied  Edwald,  with  a  still  smile;  "but, 
under  the  wreaths  of  her  gold  bower,  Hildegardis  is  already 
beaming,  and  to-day  is  even  there  before  us." 

The  knights  took  their  places;  the  trumpets  called,  the 
course  began  ;  and  truly  Froda's  prediction  seemed  about 
to  be  fulfilled  ;  for,  as  they  rushed  together,  Edwald  tottered 
in  his  seat,  so  that  he  let  go  the  bridle,  caught  the  mane 
with  both  hands,  -and  not  without  great  labor  recovered  his 
position  ;  whilst  his  wild  white  horse  scoured  over  the  ground 
with  ungovernable  springs.  Hildegardis  also  seemed  to 
waver  at  this  sight,  but  the  youth  at  last  tamed  his  steed, 
and  the  second  course  began. 

Froda  shot  along  the  ground  like  a  thunderbolt ;  all 
thought  that  the  Duke's  victory  was  utterly  hopeless.  But 
just  at  the  instant  of  meeting,  the  bold  Danish  horse  reared 
on  end  as  if  frightened  ;  the  rider  swayed,  his  spear  went 
by  without  hitting,  and,  under  Edwald's  firm  charge,  both 
steed  and  knight  rushed  clanging  to  the  ground,  and  lay 
there  as  if  stupefied. 

Edwald  now  did  as  Froda  had  done  a  short  time  before. 
In  knightly  wise  he  continued  for  a  space  motionless  on  the 
spot,  as  if  waiting  whether  any  other  adversary  would  dis- 
pute the  victory  with  him  ;  then  he  sprang  from  his  horse, 
and  flew  to  the  help  of  his  prostrated  friend. 

Eagerly  he  labored  to  draw  him  from  beneath  his  horse  ; 
and,  ere  long,  Froda  regained  his  senses,  extricated  himself, 
and  also  plucked  up  his  steed.  Then  lie  raised  his  visor, 
and  smiled  on  his  conqueror  with  a  face   of  warm   friendli- 


265 

ness,  though  it  was  somewhat  pale.  The  latter  bowed 
humbly,  almost  bashfully,  and  said :  "  Thou,  my  hero, 
thrown  !     And  by  me  !  I  understand  it  not." 

"  She  herself  wished  it,"  answered  Froda,  smiling.  "  But 
come  now  to  thy  lofty  bride." 

In  loud  triumph  shouted  the  people,  low  bowed  the  knights 
and  ladies,  as  the  old  Duke  now  advanced  with  the  lovely 
pair,  and,  at  his  bidding,  under  the  wreaths  of  the  gold  bower, 
they  fell  into  each  other's  arms  with  soft  blushing. 

That  same  day  they  were  solemnly  wedded  in  the  chapel 
of  the  Castle,  seeing  Frocla  had  so  wished  it.  A  far  jour- 
ney, he  said,  into  another  country,  was  at  hand  for  him  ; 
and  he  could  wish  so  much  to  be  present  at  the  nuptials  of 
his  friend  before  departing. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  tapers  were  flaming  clear  in  the  arched  halls  of  the 
Castle ;  Hildegardis  had  just  quitted  the  arm  of  her  lord,  to 
lead  off  a  dance  with  the  old  Duke,  when  Edwald  beckoned 
to  his  brother-in-arms,  and  both  walked  out  into  the  moon- 
shiny  garden. 

"  Ah  !  Froda,  my  high,  lordly  hero,"  said  Edwald,  after 
some  pause  ;  "  wert  thou  but  as  happy  as  I !  But  thy  look, 
earnest  and  thoughtful,  fixes  on  the  ground  ;  or  glows  im- 
patient skyward.  It  were  unspeakable  if  thou  hadst  really 
borne  a  secret  longing  in  thy  heart  for  Hildegardis  ;  and  I, 
foolish  boy,  had  now,  favored  in  so  incomprehensible  a  man- 
ner, stept  in  thy  way." 

"  Be  at  ease,  good  Edkin,"  smiled  the  Danish  hero.  "  On 
the  word  of  a  knight,  my  thinking  and  longing  is  for  another 
than  thy  fair  Hildegardis.     Aslauga's  glancing  gold  figure 

vol.  i.  23 


266  fouque. 

beams  in  my  heart  more  bright  than  ever.  But  hear  what 
I  have  to  tell  thee. 

"  At  the  instant  when  we  met  in  the  course  —  O,  had  I 
words  to  express  it !  — I  was  overflowed,  overshone,  dazzled, 
blinded  by  Aslauga's  gold  locks,  which  came  waving  round 
me ;  and  my  noble  horse  must  have  seen  them  too ;  for  I 
felt  how  he  reared  and  started  under  me.  Thee  I  no  longer 
saw,  the  world  no  longer ;  nothing  but  Aslauga's  angel  face 
close  by  me,  smiling,  blooming  like  a  flower  in  the  sea  of 
sunshine  which  floated  round  it.  My  senses  failed  me ;  I 
knew  not  where  I  was  till  thou  wert  lifting  me  from  beneath 
the  horse  ;  and  then,  too,  in  great  joy,  I  saw  that  it  was  her 
own  kind  will  which  had  struck  me  to  the  ground.  But  a 
strange  exhaustion  lay  over  me,  far  more  than  the  mere  fall 
could  have  caused  ;  and  I,  at  the  same  time,  felt  as  if  my 
mistress  must,  of  a  surety,  soon  send  me  forth  on  a  far  mis- 
sion. I  hastened  to  my  chamber  to  rest,  and  immediately  a 
deep  sleep  fell  on  me.  Then  came  Aslauga  to  my  dreams, 
more  royally  adorned  than  ever  ;  she  entered,  sat  down  by 
the  head  of  my  couch,  and  said  :  '  Haste,  array  thee  in  all 
the  pomp  of  thy  silver  armor,  for  thou   art  not   a   marriage 

guest  only,  thou  art  also  the '  And  before  the  word  was 

spoken,  she  had  melted  away  like  a  dream  ;  and  I  felt  great 
haste  to  fulfil  her  command,  and  was  rejoiced  in  heart.  But 
now,  even  in  the  middle  of  the  festival,  I  seem  to  myself  so 
solitary  as  I  never  was  before,  and  cannot  cease  thinking 
what  the  unfinished  speech  of  my  mistress  could  have 
meant." 

"  Thou  art  of  far  higher  soul,  Froda,  than  I,"  said  Ed- 
wald,  after  a  short  silence  ;  "  and  I  cannot  soar  after  thee 
in  thy  joys.  Tell  me,  however,  has  a  deep  sadness  never 
seized  thee,  that  thou  shouldst  serve  so  distant  a  mistress ; 
alas  !  a  mistress,  who  is  almost  ever  hidden  from  thee  ?  " 

"No,    Edwald  ;    not   so,"   answered   Froda,   with   eyes 


aslauga's  knight.  267 

gleaming  rapture.  "  I  know  still  that  she  despises  not  my 
service ;  nay,  there  are  times  when  she  deigns  to  show 
herself  before  me.  O  !  I  am  a  happy,  too  happy  knight  and 
singer." 

"  And  yet  thy  silence  to-day,  thy  troubled  musing  ?  " 
"Not  troubled,  dear  Edkin  ;  but  so  inward,  so  deep  from 
the  heart,  and  so  strangely  unaccountable,  withal.  But  this, 
too,  like  everything  I  feel  or  encounter,  comes  all  from  the 
words  and  commands  of  Aslauga.  How  can  it  fail,  then,  to 
be  something  beautiful,  and  to  lead  to  some  high  mark  ?  " 

A  squire,  who  had  hastened  after  them,  gave  notice  that 
the  ducal  bridegroom  was  staid  for  in  the  torch-dance  ;  and 
Edwald,  in  returning,  desired  his  friend  to  take  his  place  in 
the  stately  ceremony  next  to  him  and  Hildegardis.  Froda 
assented,  with  a  friendly  nod, 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  horns  and  hautboys  were  already  raising  their  state- 
ly tones  ;  Edwald  hastened  to  offer  his  hand  to  his  fair 
bride  ;  and  whilst  he  walked  with  her  to  the  middle  of  the 
gay  floor,  Froda  was  requesting  of  the  noble  dame  nearest 
him,  not  heeding  farther  who  she  was,  to  rise  with  him  for 
the  torch-dance  ;  and,  on  her  consent,  the  two  took  their 
place  next  the  married  pair. 

But  what  were  his  feelings  when  a  light  began  to  gleam 
from  his  partner,  before  which  the  torch  in  his  left  hand  lost 
its  brightness  !  Scarcely  did  he  dare,  in  sweet,  awe-struck 
hope,  to  turn  his  eyes  on  the  dame  ;  and  when  at  last  he 
did  so,  his  boldest  wishes  and  longings  were  fulfilled.  Ad- 
orned in  a  shining  bridal-crown  of  precious  stones,  Aslauga, 
in  solemn  loveliness,  was  dancing  beside  him,  and  beaming 
on  him,  from  amid  the  sunny  splendor  of  her  gold  hair,  with 
enrapturing  looks. 


268  FOUQUE. 

The  amazed  spectators  could  not  turn  an  eye  from  the 
mysterious  pair :  the  heroin  his  silver  mail,  with  the  uplifted 
torch  in  his  hand,  pacing  on,  earnest  and  joyful,  with  meas- 
ured tread  ;  his  mistress  beside  him,  rather  floating  than 
stepping,  and  from  her  golden  locks  raying  forth  such  bright- 
ness, that  you  might  have  thought  the  day  was  peering  in 
through  the  night;  and  where  a  look  could  penetrate  through 
all  this  beamy  glory  to  her  face,  entrancing  heart  and  sense 
with  the  unutterably  blissful  smile  of  her  eyes  and  mouth. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  dance,  she  bent  towards  Froda, 
and  whispered  with  a  kind,  trustful  air;  and  with  the  last 
tones  of  the  horns  and  hautboys  she  had  disappeared. 

No  one  of  the  curious  onlookers  had  the  courage  to  ques- 
tion the  Northman  about  his  partner ;  Hildegardis  did 
not  seem  to  have  observed  her.  But  shortly  before  the  end 
of  the  festival,  Edwald  approached  his  friend,  and  asked  in 
a  whisper  :  "  Was  it —  ?  "  —  "  Yes,  dear  youth,"  answered 
Froda,  "  thy  marriage-dance  has  been  glorified  by  the  pres- 
ence of  the  purest  beauty  that  was  ever  seen  in  any  land. 
Ah  !  and  if  I  understood  her  whisper  rightly,  thou  shalt  not 
any  more  behold  me  sighing  and  languishing  on  this  clayey 
Earth.  But  I  dare  scarcely  hope  it.  Now,  good  night, 
dear  Edkin,  good  night.  So  soon  as  I  may,  I  will  tell  thee 
all." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Light,  gay,  morning  dreams  were  still  flitting  round  Ed- 
wald's  head  ;  when  all  at  once  he  thought  a  clear  splendor 
shone  over  him.  He  remembered  Aslauga ;  but  it  was 
Froda,  whose  gold  helm  of  locks  was  now  beaming  with  a 
no  less  sunny  brightness  than  Aslauga's  flowing  hair.  "  Ha," 
thought  Edwald  in  his  dream,  "  how  has  my  beloved  brother 


aslauga's  knight.  269 

grown  so  fair !  "  And  Froda  said  to  him  :  "  I  will  sing 
thee  somewhat,  Edkin ;  low,  quite  low,  that  Hildegardis 
may  not  awaken.     Listen  to  me  j 

"  She  came  in  her  brightness,  fair  as  day, 
To  where  in  his  sleep  her  true  Knight  lay ; 
She  held  in  her  small  and  light-white  hand, 
A  plaything,  a  glancing  moon-gold  band; 
She  wound  it  about  his  hair  and  her  own, 
Still  singing  the  while  :  We  two  are  one  ! 
All  round  them  the  world  lay  poor  and  dim, 
She  mounts  in  her  sheen  aloft  with  him ; 
He  stood  in  a  garden  sweet  and  bright, 
The  Angels  do  name  it :  Land  of  Light." 

"  So  finely  thou  hast  never  in   thy  life  sung   before,"  said 
the  dreaming  youth. 

"  That  I  well  believe,  Edkin,"  said  Froda,  smiling,  and 
vanished. 

But  Edwald  continued  dreaming,  dreaming ;  and  many 
other  visions  passed  before  him,  all  of  a  lovely  cast,  though 
he  could  not  recollect  them,  when  far  in  the  morning 
he  opened  his  smiling  eyes.  Froda  and  his  mysterious  song 
alone  stood  clear  before  his  memory.  He  now  saw  well 
that  his  friend  was  dead  ;  but  he  sorrowed  not  because  of  it 
in  his  mind,  feeling  as  he  did,  that  the  pure  heart  of  the 
hero  and  singer  could  nowhere  find  its  proper  joy,  save  in 
the  Land  of  Light,  in  blissful  communion  with  the  high 
spirits  of  the  ancient  time.  He  glided  softly  from  his  sleep- 
ing Hildegardis  into  the  chamber  of  the  departed.  He  was 
lying  on  his  bed  of  rest,  almost  as  beautiful  as  he  had  looked 
in  the  vision ;  and  the  gold  helmet  on  his  head  was  entwist- 
ed  in  a  wondrous,  beaming  lock  of  hair.  Then  Edwald 
made  a  fair,  shady  grave  on  consecrated  ground  ;  summoned 
the  Castle  Chaplain,  and  with  his  help  interred  in  it  his 
heroic  Froda. 

23* 


270  FOU^UE. 

As  he  returned,  Hildegardis  awoke.  Astonished  at  his 
look  of  solemn,  humble  cheerfulness,  she  inquired  where  he 
had  been,  and  with  a  smile  he  answered  :  "  I  have  been 
burying  the  body  of  my  beloved  Froda,  who  has  last  night 
passed  away  to  his  gold-haired  mistress."  Thereupon  he 
told  Hildegardis  the  whole  history  of  Aslauga's  Knight ; 
and  continued  in  undisturbed,  mild  joy,  though,  for  some 
time  after  this,  a  little  stiller  than  formerly. 

He  was  often  to  be  found  sitting  at  his  friend's  grave, 
singing  this  little  song  to  his  cithern : 

Aslauga's  Knight, 

Fair  is  the  dance 

Where  Angels  glance, 

And  stars  do  sound  the  measure ! 

On  earthly  fight, 

Through  change  and  chance, 

To  guide  us  right, 

Send  down  thy  light, 

Thy  heart's  undying  treasure ! 


LUDWIG  TIECK 


LUDWIG    TIECK 


Ludwig  Tieck,  born  at  Berlin,  on  the  31st  of  May,  1773, 
is  known  to  the  world  only  as  a  man  of  Letters,  having 
never  held  any  public  station,  or  followed  any  profession, 
except  that  of  authorship.  Of  his  private  history  the  critics 
and  news-hunters  of  his  own  country  complain  that  they 
have  little  information  ;  a  deficiency  which  may  arise  in 
part  from  the  circumstance,  that,  till  of  late  years,  though 
from  the  first  admired  by  the  Patricians  of  his  native  litera- 
ture, he  has  stood  in  no  high  favor,  and  of  course  awakened 
no  great  curiosity,  among  the  reading  Plebs  ;  and  may  indi- 
cate, at  the  same  time,  that  in  his  walk  and  conversation 
there  is  little  wonderful  to  be  discovered. 

His  literary  life  he  began  at  Berlin,  in  his  twenty-second 
year,  by  the  publication  of  three  novels,  following  each  other 
in  quick  succession  ;  Abdallali,  William  Lovell,  and  Peter 
Leberrecht.  These  works  found  small  patronage  at  their 
first  appearance,  and  are  still  regarded  as  immature  products 
of  his  genius  ;  the  opening  of  a  cloudy,  as  well  as  fervid 
dawn  ;  betokening  a  day  of  strong  heat,  and  perhaps,  at 
last,  of  serene  brightness.  A  gloomy,  tragic  spirit  is  said  to 
reign  throughout  all  of  them  ;  the  image  of  a  high,  passion- 
ate mind,  scorning  the  base  and  the  false,  rather  than  ac- 
complishing the  good  and  the  true ;  in  rapt  earnestness 
"  interrogating  Fate,"  and  receiving  no  answer  but  the 
echo  of  its  own  questions  reverberated  from  the  dead  walls 
of  its  vast  and  lone  imprisonment. 


274  TIECK. 

In  this  stage  of  spiritual  progress,  where  so  many  not 
otherwise  ungifted  minds  at  length  painfully  content  them- 
selves to  take  up  their  permanent  abode,  where  our  own 
noble  and  hapless  Byron  perished  from  among  us  at  the 
instant  when  his  deliverance  seemed  at  hand,  it  was  not 
Tieck's  ill  fortune  to  continue  too  long.  His  Popular  Tales, 
published  in  1797,  as  an  appendage  to  his  last  novel,  under 
the  title  of  Peter  Leberrechts  Volksmahrc7ie?i,  already  indi- 
cate that  he  had  worked  his  way  through  these  baleful 
shades  into  a  calmer  and  sunnier  elevation  ;  from  which,  and 
happily  without  looking  at  the  world  through  a  painted  glass 
of  any  sort,  he  had  begun  to  see  that  there  were  things  to 
be  believed,  as  well  as  things  to  be  denied  ;  things  to  be 
loved  and  forwarded,  as  well  as  things  to  be  hated  and 
trodden  under  foot.  The  active  and  positive  of  Goodness 
was  displacing  the  barren  and  tormenting  negative  ;  and 
worthy  feelings  were  now  to  be  translated  into  their  only 
proper  language,  worthy  actions.  In  Tieck's  mind,  all 
Goodness,  all  that  was  noble  or  excellent  in  Nature,  seems 
to  have  combined  itself  under  the  image  of  Poetic  Beauty  ; 
to  the  service  and  defence  of  which  he  has  ever  since  un- 
weariedly  devoted  his  gifts  and  his  days. 

These  Volskmahrchen  are  of  the  most  varied  nature ; 
sombre,  pathetic,  fantastic,  satirical ;  but  all  pervaded  by  a 
warm,  genial  soul,  which  accommodates  itself  with  equal 
aptitude  to  the  gravest  or  the  gayest  form.  A  soft  abun- 
dance, a  simple  and  kindly  but  often  solemn  majesty  is  in 
them  ;  wondrous  shapes,  full  of  meaning,  move  over  the 
scene,  true  modern  denizens  of  the  old  Fairyland  ;  low  tones 
of  plaintiveness  or  awe  flit  round  us  ;  or  a  starry  splendor 
twinkles  down  from  the  immeasurable  depths  of  Night. 

It  is  by  this  work,  as  revised  and  perfected  long  after- 
wards, that  we  now  purpose  introducing  Tieck  to  the 
notice   of  the   English   reader.     It   was   by  this   also   that 


TIECK. 


275 


he  was  introduced  to  the  notice  of  his  countrymen.     Peter 
Leberrechts   Volksmahrchen  was   reviewed    by  August  Wil- 
helm    Schlegel,    in    the    Jena   Litteraturzeitung ;    and    its 
author,  for  the  first  time,  brought  under  the  eye  of  the  world 
as  a  man  of   rich  endowments,  and  in  the  fair  way  for  turn- 
ing them    to   proper  account.     To    the   body  of  the  world, 
however,  this  piece  of  news  was  surprising   rather  than  de- 
lightful ;  for  Tieck's  merits  were   not  of  a  kind  to  split  the 
ears  of  the  groundlings,  and  his  manner  of  producing  them 
was  ill  calculated  to  conciliate  a  kind  hearing.     Schiller  and 
Goethe  were   at  this  time   silent,   or  occupied   with   History 
and  Philosophy.     Tieck   belonged  not  to  the  existing  poetic 
guild  ;  and,  far  from  soliciting  admission,  he   had  not  scru- 
pled, in  the  most  pleasant  fashion,  to  inform  the  craftsmen 
that  their   great  Diana  was   a   dumb  idol,   and  their  silver 
shrines  an  unprofitable  thing.    Among  these  Volksmahrchen, 
one  of  the    most   prominent  is    Der    Gestiefelte   Kater,   a 
dramatized  version  of  Puss  in  Boots  ;  under  the  grotesque 
mask  of  which  he   had   laughed    with  his   whole  heart,  in  a 
true   Aristophanic   vein,  at  the  actual   aspect  of  literature; 
and  without   mingling   his  satire   with   personalities,  or  any 
other  false  ingredient,  had  rained  it,  like  a   quiet  shower  of 
volcanic  ashes,  on  the  cant  of  Illumination,  the  cant  of  Sen- 
sibility, the   cant  of  Criticism,  and    the  many  other  cants  of 
that  shallow  time,  till  the   gum-flower  products  of  the  poetic 
garden  hung  draggled  and   black  under  their  unkindly  coat- 
ing.    In  another  country,  at  another  day,  the  drama  of  Puss 
in  Boots  may  justly  be  supposed  to    appear  with   enfeebled 
influences ;  yet   even   to  a  stranger  there   is  not   wanting  a 
feast  of  broad,  joyous  humor  in  this  strange  phantasmagoria, 
where  pit  and   stage,  and   man  and  animal,   and  earth  and 
air,  are  jumbled    in   confusion  worse   confounded,  and  the 
copious,  kind,  ruddy   light    of  true    mirth    overshines   and 
warms  the  whole. 


276  TIECK. 

This  What-d'ye-call-it  of  Puss  in  Boots  was,  as  it  were, 
the  key-note  which  for  several  years  determined  the  tone  of 
Tieck's  literary  enterprises.  The  same  spirit  lives  in  his 
Verkehrte  Welt  (World  Turned  Topsyturvy),  a  drama  of 
similar  structure,  which  accompanied  the  former  ;  in  his 
tale  of  Zerbino,  or  the  Tour  in  search  of  Taste,  which  soon 
followed  it ;  and  in  numerous  parodies  and  lighter  pieces 
which  he  gave  to  the  world  in  his  Poetic  Journal ;  the  second 
and  last  volume  of  which  periodical  contains  his  Letters  on 
Shakspeare,  inculcating  the  same  doctrines  in  a  graver 
shape.  About  this  time,  after  a  short  residence  in  Ham- 
burg, where  he  had  married,  he  removed  his  abode  to  Jena ; 
a  change  which  confirmed  him  in  his  literary  tendencies, 
and  facilitated  the  attainment  of  their  objects.  It  was  here 
that  he  became  acquainted  with  the  two  Schlegels  ;  and,  at 
the  same  time,  with  their  friend  Novalis,  a  young  man  of  a 
pure,  warm,  and  benignant  genius,  whose  fine  spirit  died  in  its 
first  blossoming,  and  whose  posthumous  works  it  was,  ere 
long,  the  melancholy  task  of  Tieck  and  the  younger  Schle- 
gel  to  publish  under  their  superintendence.  With  Wack- 
enroder  of  Berlin,  a  person  of  kindred  mind  with  Novalis, 
and  kindred  fortune  also,  having  died  very  early,  Tieck  was 
already  acquainted  and  united  ;  for  he  had  cooperated  in  the 
Herzensergiessungen  eines  einsamen  Klosterbruders,  an 
elegant  and  impressive  work  on  pictorial  art,  and  Wacken- 
roder's  chief  performance. 

These  young  men  sympathized  completely  in  their  critical 
ideas  with  Tieck ;  and  each  was  laboring  in  his  own  sphere 
to  disseminate  them,  and  reduce  them  to  practice.  Their 
endeavors,  it  would  seem,  have  prospered ;  for,  in  colloquial, 
literary  history,  this  gifted  cinquefoil  —  often  it  is  only  the 
trefoil  of  Tieck  and  the  two  Schlegels  —  have  the  credit, 
which  was  long  the  blame,  of  founding  a  New  School  of 
Poetry,  by  which  the   Old   School,   first  fired  upon  in  the 


TIECK.  27  7 

Gestiefelte  Kater,  and  ever  afterwards  assailed,  without 
intermission,  by  eloquence  and  ridicule,  argument  and 
entreaty,  was  at  length  displaced  and  hunted  out  of  being  ; 
or,  like  Partridge  the  Astrologer,  reduced  to  a  life  which 
could  be  proved  to  be  no  life. 

Of  this  New  School,  which  has  been  the  subject  of  much 
unwise  talk,  and  of  much  not  very  wise  writing,  we  cannot 
here  attempt  to  offer  any  suitable  description,  far  less  any 
just  estimate.  One  thing  may  be  remarked,  that  the  epithet 
School  seems  to  describe  the  case  with  little  propriety. 
That  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  a  great 
change  has  taken  place  in  German  literature,  is  plain 
enough,  without  commentators ;  but  that  it  was  effected  by 
three  young  men,  living  in  the  little  town  of  Jena,  is  not  by 
any  means  so  plain.  The  critical  principles  of  Tieck  and 
the  Schlegels  had  already  been  set  forth,  in  the  form  both 
of  precept  and  prohibition,  and  with  all  the  aids  of  philoso- 
phic depth  and  epigrammatic  emphasis,  by  the  united  minds 
of  Goethe  and  Schiller,  in  the  Horen  and  Xenien.  The 
development  and  practical  application  of  the  doctrine  is  all 
that  pertains  to  these  reputed  founders  of  the  sect,  But 
neither  can  the  change  be  said  to  have  originated  with 
Schiller  and  Goethe  ;  for  it  is  a  change  originating  not  in 
individuals,  but  in  universal  circumstances,  and  belongs  not 
to  Germany,  but  to  Europe.  Among  ourselves,  for  in- 
stance, within  the  last  thirty  years,  who  has  not  lifted  up  his 
voice  with  double  vigor  in  praise  of  Shakspeare  and  Nature, 
and  vituperation  of  French  taste  and  French  philosophy  ? 
Who  has  not  heard  of  the  glories  of  old  English  literature  ; 
the  wealth  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  age  ;  the  penury  of  Queen 
Anne's;  and  the  inquiry  whether  Pope  was  a  poet?  A 
similar  temper  is  breaking  out  in  France  itself,  hermetically 
sealed  as  that  country  seemed  to  be  against  all  foreign  in- 
fluences ;  and  doubts  are  beginning  to  be  entertained,  and 
vol.  i.  24 


278 


TIECK. 


even  expressed,  about  Corneille  and  the  Three  Unities.  It 
seems  to  be  substantially  the  same  thing  which  has  occur- 
red in  Germany,  and  been  attributed  to  Tieck  and  his 
associates  ;  only,  that  the  revolution,  which  is  here  proceed- 
ing, and  in  France  commencing,  appears  in  Germany  to  be 
completed.  Its  results  have  there  been  embodied  in  elabor- 
ate laws,  and  profound  systems  have  been  promulgated  and 
accepted  ;  whereas  with  us,  in  past  years,  there  has  been 
as  it  were  a  Literary  Anarchy  ;  for  the  Pandects  of  Blair 
and  Bossu  are  obsolete  or  abrogated,  but  no  new  code  sup- 
plies their  place  ;  and,  author  and  critic,  each  sings  or  says 
that  which  is  right  in  his  own  eyes.  For  the  principles  of 
German  Poetics  we  can  only  refer  the  reader  to  the  trea- 
tises of  Kant,  Schiller,  Richter,  the  Schlegels,  and  their 
many  copyists  and  expositors ;  with  the  promise  that  his 
labor  will  be  hard,  but  not  unrewarded  by  a  plenteous  har- 
vest of  results,  which,  whether  they  be  doubted,  denied,  or 
believed,  he  will  find  no  trivial  or  unprofitable  subject  for 
his  contemplation. 

These  doctrines  of  taste,  which  Tieck  embraced  every 
opportunity  of  enforcing  as  a  critic,  he  did  not  fail  diligently 
to  exemplify  in  practice  ;  as  a  long  and  rapid  series  of  poeti- 
cal performances  lies  before  the  world  to  attest.  Of  these, 
his  Genoveva,  a  play  grounded  on  the  legend  of  that  Saint, 
appears  to  be  regarded  as  his  master-piece  by  the  best 
judges  ;  though  Franz  Sternebalds  Wanderungen,  the  fic- 
titious History  of  a  Student  of  Painting,  was  more  relished 
by  others  ;  and,  as  a  critic  tells  us,  "  here  and  there  a  low 
voice  might  be  even  heard  voting  that  this  novel  equalled 
Wilhehn  Meister  ;  the  peaceful  clearness  of  which  it  how- 
ever nowise  attained,  but  only,  with  visible  effort,  strove  tQ 
imitate."  In  this  last  work  he  was  assisted  by  Wacken- 
roder.  At  an  earlier  period  he  had  come  forth,  as  a  trans- 
lator, with  a  new  version  of  Don  Quixote  ;  he  now  appeared 


TIECK. 


279 


also  as  a  commentator,  with  a  work  entitled  Minnelieder 
ans  dem  Schwabischen  Zeitalter  (Minstrelsy  of  the  Swabian 
Era),  published  at  Berlin  in  1803 ;  with  an  able  Preface, 
explaining  the  relation  of  these  poets  to  Petrarca  and  the 
Troubadours.  In  1804  he  sent  out  his  Kaiser  Octavianus, 
a  story  which,  like  the  other  works  mentioned  in  this  para- 
graph, I  have  never  seen,  but  which  I  find  praised  by  his 
countrymen  in  no  very  intelligible  terms,  as  "a  fair  revival 
of  the  old  Mahrchen  (Traditionary  Tale) ;  in  which,  how- 
ever, the  poet  moves  freely,  and  has  completed  the  cycle 
of  the  romance."  Die  Gemalde  (The  Pictures),  another  of 
his  fictions,  has  lately  been  translated  into  English. 

Tieck's  frequent  change  of  place  bespeaks  less  settledness 
in  his  domestic,  than  happily  existed  in  his  intellectual 
circumstances.  From  Jena  he  seems  to  have  again  removed 
to  Berlin  ;  then  to  a  country  residence  near  Frankfort  on 
the  Oder;  which,  in  its  turn,  he  quitted  for  a  journey  into 
Italy.  In  this  classic  country  he  found  new  facilities  for 
two  of  his  favorite  pursuits.  Pie  employed  himself,  it  is  said, 
to  good  purpose,  in  the  study  of  ancient  and  modern  art ; 
to  which,  while  in  Rome,  he  added  the  examining  of  many 
old  German  manuscripts  preserved  in  the  Vatican  Library. 
From  his  labors  in  this  latter  department,  and  elsewhere, 
his  countrymen  have  not  long  ago  obtained,  in  addition  to 
the  Minstrelsy,  an  Altdeutsches  Theater  (Old-German  The- 
atre), in  two  volumes,  with  the  hope  of  more.  A  collection 
of  Old-German  Poetry  is  still  expected. 

In  1806  he  returned  to  Germany;  first  to  Munich,  then 
to  his  former  retreat  near  Frankfort ;  but  for  the  next  seven 
years,  he  was  little  heard  of  as  an  active  member  of  the 
literary  world  ;  and  the  regret  of  his  admirers  was  increased 
by  intelligence  that  ill  health  was  the  cause  of  his  inactiv- 
ity. That  this  inactivity  was  more  apparent  than  real,  he 
has  proved   by  his   reappearance   in   new   vigor,  at  a  time 


280 


TIECK. 


when  he  finds  a  readier  welcome  and  more  willing  audi- 
ence. He  has  since  published  abundantly  in  various  forms ; 
as  a  translator,  an  editor,  and  a  writer  both  of  poetry  and 
prose.  In  1812  appeared  his  early  Volksmahrchen,  re- 
touched, and  improved,  and  combined  into  a  whole,  by 
conversations,  critical,  disquisitionary,  and  descriptive,  in 
two  volumes,  entitled  Phantasus ;  from  which  our  present 
specimens  of  him  are  taken.  His  Altdeutsches  Theater  was 
followed  by  an  Altenglisches,  including  the  disputed  plays  of 
Shakspeare  ;  a  work  gladly  received  by  his  countrymen,  no 
less  devoted  admirers  of  Shakspeare  than  ourselves.  Since 
that  time,  he  has  paid  us  a  personal  visit.  In  1818  he  was 
in  London,  and  is  said  to  have  been  well  satisfied  with  his 
reception;  which  we  cannot  but  hope  was  as  respectful  and 
kind  as  a  guest  so  accomplished,  and  so  friendly  to  Eng- 
land, deserved  at  our  hands.  The  fruit  of  his  residence 
among  us,  it  seems,  has  already  appeared  in  his  writings. 
He  has  very  lately  given  to  the  world  a  novel  on  Shakspeare 
and  his  Times;  in  which  he  has  not  trembled  to  introduce, 
as  acting  characters,  the  great  dramatist  himself,  with  Mar- 
lowe, and  various  other  poets  of  that  age.  Such  is  the 
report,  which  adds,  that  his  work  is  admired  in  Germany  ; 
but  that  any  copy  of  it  has  crossed  the  Channel,  I  have  not 
heard.  Of  Tieck's  present  residence,  or  special  pursuits,  or 
economical  circumstances,  I  am  sorry  to  confess  my  entire 
ignorance.  One  little  fact  may  perhaps  be  worth  adding; 
that  Sophie  Bernhardi,  an  esteemed  authoress,  is  his  sister. 

A  very  slight  power  of  observation  will  suffice  to  con- 
vince us  that  Tieck  is  no  ordinary  man  ;  but  a  true  Poet, 
a  Poet  born  as  well  as  made.  Of  a  nature  at  once  suscep- 
tible and  strong,  he  has  looked  over  the  circle  of  human 
interests  with  a  far-sighted  and  piercing  eye,  and  partaken 
deeply  of  its  joy  and  woe  ;  and  these  impressions  on  his 
heart  or  his    mind    have    been    like   seed    sown   on   fertile 


TIECK. 


281 


ground,  ripening  under  the  skyey  influences  into  rich  and 
varied  luxuriance.  He  is  no  mere  observist  and  compiler; 
rendering  back  to  us,  with  additions  or  subtractions,  the 
Beauty  which  existing  things  have  of  themselves  presented 
to  him  ;  but  a  true  Maker,  to  whom  the  actual  and  external 
is  but  the  excitement  for  ideal  creations,  representing  and 
ennobling  its  effects.  His  feeling  or  knowledge,  his  love  or 
scorn,  his  gay  humor  or  solemn  earnestness,  all  the  riches 
of  his  inward  world,  are  pervaded  and  mastered  by  the 
living  energy  of  the  soul  which  possesses  them  ;  and  their 
finer  essence  is  wafted  to  us  in  his  poetry,  like  Arabian 
odors  on  the  wings  of  the  wind. 

But  this  may  be  said  of  all  true  poets;  and  each  is  dis- 
tinguished from  all  by  his  individual  characteristics.  Among 
Tieck's,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  is  his  combination  of 
so  many  gifts  in  such  full  and  simple  harmony.  His  ridi- 
cule does  not  obstruct  his  adoration  ;  his  gay  Southern  fancy 
lives  in  union  with  a  Northern  heart.  With  the  moods  of 
a  longing  and  impassioned  spirit  he  seems  deeply  conver- 
sant;  and  a  still  imagination,  in  the  highest  sense  of  that 
word,  reigns  over  all  his  poetic  world.  Perhaps,  on  the 
whole,  this  is  his  distinguishing  faculty ;  an  imagination, 
not  of  the  intellect,  but  of  the  character,  not  so  much  vague 
and  gigantic  as  altogether  void  and  boundless.  A  feeling 
as  of  desert  vastness  steals  over  us  in  what  appeared  to  be 
a  common  scene  ;  or  in  high  passages,  a  fire  as  of  a  furnace 
glows  in  one  small  spot,  under  the  infinitude  of  darkness; 
Immensity  and  Eternity  seem  to  rest  over  the  bounded  and 
quickly-fading. 

His  mind  we  should  call  well  cultivated ;  for  no  part  of 
it  seems  stunted  in  its  growth,  and  it  acts  in  soft,  unimpeded 
union.  His  heart  seems  chastened  in  the  school  of  expe- 
rience ;  fervid,  yet  meek  and  humble,  heedful  of  good  in 
mean  forms,  and  looking  for  its  satisfaction  not  in  passive. 
24* 


282  TIECK. 

but  in  active  enjoyments.  His  poetical  taste  seems  no  less 
polished  and  pure;  with  all  his  mental  riches  and  excur- 
siveness,  he  merits  in  the  highest  degree  the  praise  of  chaste 
simplicity,  both  in  conception  and  style.  No  man  ever 
rejected  more  carefully  the  aid  of  exaggeration  in  word  and 
thought,  or  produced  more  result  by  humbler  means.  Who 
could  have  supposed  that  a  tragedy,  no  mock-heroic,  but  a 
real  tragedy,  calculated  to  affect  and  excite  us,  could  have 
been  erected  on  the  ground-work  of  a  nursery  tale?  Yet 
let  any  one  read  Blaubart  in  the  Phantasus,  and  say  wheth- 
er this  is  not  accomplished.  Nor  is  Tieck's  history  of  our 
old  friend  Bluebeard  any  Fairyland  George  Barnwell ;  but 
a  genuine  play,  with  comic  as  well  as  tragic  life  in  it;  ua 
group  of  earnest  figures,  painted  on  a  laughing  ground," 
and  surprising  us  with  poetical  delight,  where  we  looked  for 
anything  sooner. 

In  his  literary  life,  Tieck  has  essayed  many  provinces, 
both  of  the  imaginative  and  the  intellectual  world;  but  his 
own  peculiar  province  seems  to  be  that  of  the  Mahrchen  ; 
a  word  which,  for  want  of  a  proper  synonym,  we  are  forced 
to  translate  by  the  imperfect  periphrase  of  Popular  Tradi- 
tionary Tale.  Here,  by  the  consent  of  all  his  critics, 
including  even  the  collectors  of  real  Mdhrchen,  he  reigns 
without  any  rival.  The  true  tone  of  that  ancient  time, 
when  man  was  in  his  childhood,  when  the  universe  within 
was  divided  by  no  wall  of  adamant  from  the  universe  with- 
out, and  the  forms  of  the  Spirit  mingled  and  dwelt  in  trustful 
sisterhood  with  the  forms  of  the  Sense,  was  not  easy  to 
seize  and  adapt  with  any  fitness  of  application  to  the  feelings 
of  modern  minds.  It  was  to  penetrate  into  the  inmost 
shrines  of  Imagination,  where  human  passion  and  action 
are  reflected  in  dim  and  fitful,  but  deeply  significant  resem- 
blances, and  to  copy  these  with  the  guileless,  humble  graces 
which   alone   can   become   them.     Such   tales   ought   to  be 


TIECK. 


283 


poetical,  because  they  spring  from  the  very  fountains  of 
natural  feeling  ;  they  ought  to  be  moral,  not  as  exemplifying 
some  current  apophthegm,  but  as  imaging  forth  in  shadowy 
emblems  the  universal  tendencies  and  destinies  of  man.  That 
Tieck  has  succeeded  thus  far  in  his  Tales  is  not  asserted 
by  his  warmest  admirers  ;  but  only  that  he  now  and  then 
approaches  such  success,  and  throughout  approaches  it  more 
closely  than  any  of  his  rivals. 

How  far  this  judgment  of  Tieck's  admirers  is  correct, 
our  readers  are  now  to  try  for  themselves.  Respecting  the 
reception  of  these  Tales,  I  cannot  boast  of  having  any  very 
certain,  still  less  any  very  flattering  presentiment.  Their 
merits,  such  as  they  have,  are  not  of  a  kind  to  force  them- 
selves on  the  reader  ;  and  to  search  for  merits  few  readers 
are  inclined.  The  ordinary  lovers  of  witch  and  fairy  matter 
will  remark  a  deficiency  of  spectres  and  enchantments  here, 
and  complain  that  the  whole  is  rather  dull.  Cultivated  free- 
thinkers, again,  well  knowing  that  no  ghosts  or  elves  exist 
in  this  country,  will  smile  at  the  crack-brained  dreamer, 
with  his  spelling-book  prose  and  doggrel  verse,  and  dismiss 
him  good-naturedly  as  a  German  Lake-poet.  Alas  !  alas  ! 
Ludwig  Tieck  could  also  fantasy,  "  like  a  drunk  Irishman," 
with  great  conveniency,  if  it  seemed  good  to  him  ;  he  can 
laugh,  too,  and  disbelieve,  and  set  springes  to  catch  wood- 
cocks in  manifold  wise  ;  but  his  present  business  was  not 
this ;  nor,  I  fear,  is  the  lover  of  witchmatter,  or  the  free- 
thinker, likely  soon  to  discover  what  it  was. 

Other  readers  there  are,  however,  who  will  come  to  him 
in  a  truer  and  meeker  spirit,  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  be  re- 
warded with  some  touches  of  genuine  poetry.  For  the 
credit  of  the  stranger,  I  ought  to  remind  them  that  he  ap- 
pears under  many  disadvantages.  In  the  process  of  trans- 
lation he  has   necessarily  lost,  and  perhaps  in  more  than  the 


284  TIECK. 

usual  proportion  ;  the  childlike  character  of  his  style  was 
apt  to  diverge  into  the  childish  ;  the  nakedness  of  his  rhymes, 
perhaps  at  first  only  wavering  between  simplicity  and  silli- 
ness, must  in  my  hands  too  frequently  have  shifted  nearer 
the  latter.  Above  all,  such  works  as  his  come  on  us  unpre- 
pared ;  unprovided  with  any  model  *  by  which  to  estimate 
them,  or  any  category  under  which  to  arrange  them.  Never- 
theless, the  present  specimens  of  Tieck  do  'exhibit  some 
features  of  his  mind  ;  a  few,  but  those,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
its  rarest  and  highest  features.  To  such  readers,  and  with 
such  allowances,  the  Runenherg,  the  Trusty  Eckart,  and 
their  associates,  may  be  commended  with  some  confidence. 

*  I  have  not  forgotten  Allan  Cunningham's  Traditional  Tales  of 
the  English  and  Scottish  Peasantry  ;  a  work  full  of  kind  fancy  and 
soft  glowing  exuberance,  and  with  traces  of  a  genius  which  might 
rise  into  a  far  loftier  and  purer  element  than  it  has  ever  yet  moved 
and  lived  in. 


POPULAR  TALES 


THE  FATR-HAIRED   ECKBERT. 

In  a  district  of  the  Harz  dwelt  a  Knight,  whose  common 
designation  in  that  quarter  was  the  Fair-haired  Eckbert.  He 
was  about  forty  years  of  age,  scarcely  of  middle  stature, 
and  short,  light-colored  locks  lay  close  and  sleek  round  his 
pale  and  sunken  countenance.  He  led  a  retired  life,  had 
never  interfered  in  the  feuds  of  his  neighbors  ;  indeed,  be- 
yond the  outer  wall  of  his  castle,  he  was  seldom  to  be  seen. 
His  wife  loved  solitude  as  much  as  he  ;  both  seemed  heartily 
attached  to  one  another  ;  only  now  and  then  they  would 
lament  that  Heaven  had  not  blessed  their  marriage  with 
children. 

Few  came  to  visit  Eckbert,  and  when  guests  did  happen 
to  be  with  him,  their  presence  made  but  little  alteration  in 
his  customary  way  of  life  ;  Temperance  abode  in  his  house- 
hold, and  Frugality  herself  appeared  to  be  the  mistress  of 
the  entertainment.  On  these  occasions,  Eckbert  was  always 
cheerful  and  lively  ;  but  when  he  was  alone,  you  might  ob- 
serve in  him  a  certain  mild  reserve,  a  still,  retiring  melan- 
choly. 

His  most  frequent  guest  was  Philip  Walther ;  a  man  to 
whom  he  had  attached  himself,  from  having  found  in  him  a 
way  of  thinking  like  his  own.  Walther's  residence  was  in 
Franconia  ;  but  he  would  often  stay  for  half  a  year  in  Eck- 


286 


TIECK. 


bert's  neighborhood,  gathering  plants  and  minerals,  and  then 
sorting  and  arranging  them.  He  lived  on  a  small  inde- 
pendency, and  was  connected  with  no  one.  Eckbert  fre- 
quently attended  him  in  his  sequestered  walks  ;  year  after 
year,  a  closer  friendship  grew  betwixt  them. 

There  are  hours  in  which  a  man  feels  grieved  that  he 
should  have  a  secret  from  his  friend,  which,  till  then,  he 
may  have  kept  with  niggard  anxiety.  Some  irresistible  de- 
sire lays  hold  of  our  heart  to  open  itself  wholly,  to  disclose 
its  inmost  recesses  to  our  friend,  that  so  he  may  become 
our  friend  still  more.  It  is  in  such  moments  that  tender 
souls  unveil  themselves,  and  stand  face  to  face  ;  and  at  times 
it  will  happen  that  the  one  recoils  affrighted  from  the  coun- 
tenance of  the  other. 

It  was  late  in  Autumn,  when  Eckbert,  one  cloudy  evening, 
was  sitting,  with  his  friend  and  his  wife  Bertha,  by  the  parlor 
fire.  The  flame  cast  a  red  glimmer  through  the  room,  and 
sported  on  the  ceiling  ;  the  night  looked  sullenly  in  through 
the  windows,  and  the  trees  without  rustled  in  wet  coldness. 
Walther  complained  of  the  long  road  he  had  to  travel  ;  and 
Eckbert  proposed  to  him  to  stay  where  he  was,  to  while 
away  half  of  the  night  in  friendly  talk,  and  then  to  take  a 
bed  in  the  house  till  morning.  Walther  agreed,  and  the 
whole  was  speedily  arranged ;  by  and  by  wine  and  supper 
were  brought  in  ;  fresh  wood  was  laid  upon  the  fire  ;  the 
talk  grew  livelier  and  more  confidential. 

The  cloth  being  removed,  and  the  servants  gone,  Eckbert 
took  his  friend's  hand,  and  said  to  him  :  "  Now  you  must  let 
my  wife  tell  you  the  history  of  her  youth  ;  it  is  curious 
enough,  and  you  should  know  it." —  "With  all  my  heart," 
said  Walther  ;  and  the  party  again  drew  round  the  hearth. 

It  was  now  midnight,  the  moon  looked  fitfully  through 
the  breaks  of  the  driving  clouds.  "  You  must  not  reckon 
me  a  babbler,"  began   the  lady.     "  My  husband   says  you 


THE    PAIR-HAIRED    ECK.BERT.  287 

have  so  generous  a  mind,  that  it  is  not  right  in  us  to  hide 
aught  from  you.  Only  do  not  take  my  narrative  for  a 
fable,  however  strangely  it  may  sound. 

"  I  was  born  in  a  little  village  ;  my  father  was  a  poor 
herdsman.  Our  circumstances  were  not  of  the  best ;  often 
we  knew  not  where  to  find  our  daily  bread.  But  what 
grieved  me  far  more  than  this,  were  the  quarrels  which  my 
father  and  mother  often  had  about  their  poverty,  and  the 
bitter  reproaches  they  cast  on  one  another.  Of  myself  too, 
I  heard  nothing  said  but  ill :  they  were  for  ever  telling  me 
that  I  was  a  silly,  stupid  child,  that  I  could  not  do  the  simp- 
lest turn  of  work  ;  and  in  truth  I  was  extremely  inexpert 
and  helpless ;  I  let  things  fall,  I  neither  learned  to  sew  nor 
spin,  I  could  be  of  no  use  to  my  parents;  only  their  straits 
I  understood  too  well.  Often  I  would  sit  in  a  corner  and 
fill  my  little  heart  with  dreams,  how  I  would  help  them,  if  I 
should  all  at  once  grow  rich,  how  I  would  overflow  them 
with  silver  and  gold,  and  feast  myself  on  their  amazement ; 
and  then,  spirits  came  hovering  up,  and  showed  me  buried 
treasures,  or  gave  me  little  pebbles  which  changed  into 
precious  stones  ;  in  short  the  strangest  fancies  occupied  me, 
and  when  I  had  to  rise  and  help  with  anything,  my  inex- 
pertness  was  still  greater,  as  my  head  was  giddy  with  these 
motley  visions. 

"  My  father  in  particular  was  always  very  cross  to  me  ;  he 
scolded  me  for  being  such  a  burden  to  the  house  ;  indeed  he 
often  used  me  rather  cruelly,  and  it  was  very  seldom  that  I 
got  a  friendly  word  from  him.  In  this  way  I  had  struggled 
on  to  near  the  end  of  my  eighth  year  ;  and  now  it  was  serious- 
ly fixed  that  I  should  begin  to  do  or  learn  something.  My 
father  still  maintained  that  it  was  nothing  but  caprice  in  me, 
or  a  lazy  wish  to  pass  my  days  in  idleness  ;  accordingly  he  set 
upon  me  with  furious  threats,  and  as  these  made  no  improve- 
ment, he  one  day  gave  me  a  most  cruel   chastisement,  and 


288  TIECK. 

added,  that  the  same  should  be  repeated  day  after  day,  since 
I  was  nothing  but  a  useless  sluggard. 

"  That  whole  night  I  wept  abundantly  ;  I  felt  myself  so 
utterly  forsaken,  I  had  such  a  sympathy  with  myself,  that  I 
even  longed  to  die.  I  dreaded  the  break  of  day;  I  knew 
not  on  earth  what  I  was  to  do  or  try.  I  wished  from  my 
very  heart  to  be  clever,  and  could  not  understand  how  I 
should  be  worse  than  the  other  children  of  the  place.  I 
was  on  the  borders  of  despair. 

"  At  the  dawn  of  day  I  rose,  and,  scarcely  knowing  what 
I  did,  unfastened  the  door  of  our  little  hut.  I  stept  upon 
the  open  field  ;  next  minute  I  was  in  a  wood,  where  the 
light  of  the  morning  had  yet  hardly  penetrated.  I  ran  along, 
not  looking  round ;  for  I  felt  no  fatigue,  and  I  still  thought 
my  father  would  catch  me,  and,  in  his  anger  at  my  flight, 
would  beat  me  worse  than  ever. 

"  I  had  reached  the  other  side  of  the  forest,  and  the  sun 
was  risen  a  considerable  way  ;  I  saw  something  dim  lying 
before  me,  and  a  thick  fog  resting  over  it.  Ere  long  my 
path  began  to  mount,  at  one  time  I  was  climbing  hills,  at 
another  winding  among  rocks;  and  I  now  guessed  that  I 
must  be  among  the  neighboring  Mountains  ;  a  thought  that 
made  me  shudder  in  my  loneliness.  For,  living  in  the  plain 
country,  I  had  never  seen  a  hill  ;  and  the  very  word  Moun- 
tains, when  I  heard  talk  of  them,  had  been  a  sound  of  terror 
to  my  young  ear.  I  had  not  the  heart  to  go  back,  my  fear 
itself  drove  me  on  ;  often  I  looked  round  affrighted  when  the 
breezes  rustled  over  me  among  the  trees,  or  the  stroke  of 
some  distant  woodman  sounded  far  through  the  still  morn- 
ing. And  when  I  began  to  meet  with  charcoal-men  and 
miners,  and  heard  their  foreign  way  of  speech,  I  had  nearly 
fainted  for  terror. 

"  I  passed  through  several  villages  ;  begging  now  and 
then,  for  I   felt  hungry   and  thirsty ;  and  fashioning  my  an- 


THE    FAIR-HAIRED    ECKBERT.  289 

swers  as  I  best  could  when  questions  were  put  to  me.  In 
this  manner  I  had  wandered  on  some  four  days,  when  I 
came  upon  a  little  footpath,  which  led  me  farther  and  farther 
from  the  highway.  The  rocks  about  me  now  assumed  a 
different  and  far  stranger  form.  They  were  cliffs  so  piled 
on  one  another,  that  it  looked  as  if  the  first  gust  of  wind 
would  hurl  them  all  this  way  and  that.  I  knew  not  whether 
to  go  on  or  stop.  Till  now  I  had  slept  by  night  in  the  woods, 
for  it  was  the  finest  season  of  the  year,  or  in  some  remote 
shepherd's  hut ;  but  here  I  saw  no  human  dwelling  at  all, 
and  could  not  hope  to  find  one  in  this  wilderness  ;  the  crags 
grew  more  and  more  frightful  ;  I  had  many  a  time  to  glide 
along  by  the  very  edge  of  dreadful  abysses  ;  by  degrees  my 
foot-path  became  fainter,  and  at  last  all  traces  of  it  vanished 
from  beneath  me.  I  was  utterly  comfortless  ;  I  wept  and 
screamed  ;  and  my  voice  came  echoing  back  from  the  rocky 
valleys  with  a  sound  that  terrified  me.  The  night  now  came 
on,  and  I  sought  out  a  mossy  nook  to  lie  down  in.  I  could 
not  sleep  ;  in  the  darkness  I  heard  the  strangest  noises  ; 
sometimes  I  took  them  to  proceed  from  wild  beasts,  some- 
times from  wind  moaning  through  the  rocks,  sometimes 
from  unknown  birds.  I  prayed  ;  and  did  not  sleep  till  to- 
wards morning. 

"  When  the  light  came  upon  my  face,  I  awoke.  Before 
me  was  a  steep  rock;  I  clomb  up,  in  the  hope  of  discovering 
some  outlet  from  the  waste,  perhaps  of  seeing  houses  or 
men.  But  when  I  reached  the  top  there  was  nothing  still, 
so  far  as  my  eye  could  reach,  but  a  wilderness  of  crags  and 
precipices  ;  all  was  covered  with  a  dim  haze,  the  day  was 
grey  and  troubled,  and  no  tree,  no  meadow,  not  even  a  bush 
could  I  find,  only  a  few  shrubs  shooting  up  stunted  and 
solitary  in  the  narrow  clefts  of  the  rocks.  I  cannot  utter 
what  a  longing  I  felt  but  to  see  one  human  creature,  any 
living  mortal,  even   though  I   had  been  afraid  of  hurt  from 

vol.  i.  25 


290  TIECK. 

him.  At  the  same  time  I  was  tortured  by  a  gnawing  hun- 
ger ;  I  sat  down,  and  made  up  my  mind  to  die.  After  a 
while,  however,  the  desire  of  living  gained  the  mastery  ;  I 
roused  myself,  and  wandered  forward  amid  tears  and  broken 
sobs  all  day  ;  in  the  end  I  hardly  knew  what  I  was  doing  ; 
I  was  tired  and  spent,  I  scarcely  wished  to  live,  and  yet  I 
feared  to  die. 

"  Towards  night  the  country  seemed  to  grow  a  little 
kindlier;  my  thoughts,  my  desires  revived,  the  wish  for 
life  awoke  in  all  my  veins.  I  thought  I  heard  the  rushing 
of  a  mill  afar  off;  I  redoubled  my  steps;  and  how  glad, 
how  light  of  heart  was  I,  when  at  last  I  actually  gained  the 
limits  of  the  barren  rocks,  and  saw  woods  and  meadows 
lying  before  me,  with  soft  green  hills  in  the  distance  !  I  felt 
as  if  I  had  stept  out  of  hell  into  a  paradise  ;  my  loneliness 
and  helplessness  no  longer  frightened  me. 

"  Instead  of  the  hoped-for  mill,  I  came  upon  a  water-fall, 
which,  in  truth,  considerably  damped  my  joy.  I  was  lifting 
a  drink  from  it  in  the  hollow  of  my  hand,  when  all  at  once 
I  thought  I  heard  a  slight  cough  some  little  way  from  me. 
Never  in  my  life  was  I  so  joyfully  surprised  as  at  this  mo- 
ment ;  I  went  near,  and  at  the  border  of  the  wood  I  saw 
an  old  woman  sitting  resting  on  the  ground.  She  was 
dressed  almost  wholly  in  black;  a  black  hood  covered  her 
head,  and  the  greater  part  of  her  face  ;  in  her  hand  she  held 
a  crutch. 

"  I  came  up  to  her,  and  begged  for  help ;  she  made  me 
sit  by  her,  and  gave  me  bread,  and  a  little  wine.  While  I 
ate,  she  sang  in  a  screeching  tone  some  kind  of  spiritual 
song.  When  she  had  done,  she  told  me  I  might  follow 
her. 

"  The  offer  charmed  me,  strange  as  the^  old  woman's 
voice  and  look  appeared.  With  her  crutch  she  limped  away 
pretty  fast,  and  at  every  step   she  twisted  her  face  so  oddly, 


THE    FAIR-HAIRED    ECKBERT.  291 

that  at  first  I  was  like  to  laugh.  The  wild  rocks  retired 
behind  us  more  and  more  ;  I  never  shall  forget  the  aspect 
and  the  feeling  of  that  evening.  All  things  were  as  molten 
into  the  softest  golden  red  ;  the  trees  were  standing  with 
their  tops  in  the  glow  of  the  sunset ;  on  the  fields  lay  a  mild 
brightness ;  the  woods  and  the  leaves  of  the  trees  were 
standing  motionless ;  the  pure  sky  looked  out  like  an  opened 
paradise  ;  and  the  gushing  of  the  brooks,  and,  from  time  to 
time,  the  rustling  of  the  trees,  resounded  through  the  serene 
stillness,  as  in  pensive  joy.  My  young  soul  was  here  first 
taken  with  a  forethought  of  the  world  and  its  vicissitudes. 
I  forgot  myself  and  my  conductress  ;  my  spirit  and  my  eyes 
were  wandering  among  the  shining  clouds. 

"  We  now  mounted  an  eminence  planted  with  birch-trees  ; 
from  the  top  we  looked  into  a  green  valley,  likewise  full  of 
birches  ;  and  down  below,  in  the  middle  of  them,  was  a 
little  hut.  A  glad  barking  reached  us,  and  immediately  a 
little  nimble  dog  came  springing  round  the  old  woman, 
fawned  on  her,  and  wagged  its  tail  ;  it  next  came  to  me, 
viewed  me  on  all  sides,  and  then  turned  back  with  a  friendly 
look  to  its  old  mistress. 

"  On  reaching  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  I  heard  the  strangest 
song,  as  if  coming  from  the  hut,  and  sung  by  some  bird. 
It  ran  thus : 

Alone  in  wood  so  gay 
'T  is  good  to  stay, 
Morrow  like  to-day, 
For  ever  and  aye ; 
O,  I  do  love  to  stay, 
Alone  in  wood  so  gay. 

"  These  few  words  were  continually  repeated,  and  to  de- 
scribe the  sound,  it  was  as  if  you  heard  forest-horns  and 
shalms  sounded  together  from  a  far  distance. 

"  My  curiosity   was   wonderfully  on  the  stretch  ;  without 


292 


T1ECK. 


wailing  for  the  old  woman's  orders,  I  stept  into  the  hut.  It 
was  already  dusk  ;  here  all  was  neatly  swept  and  trimmed  ; 
some  bowls  were  standing  in  a  cupboard,  so^ie  strange- 
looking  casks  or  pots  on  a  table  ;  in  a  glittering  cage, 
hanging  by  the  window,  was  a  bird,  and  this  in  fact 
proved  to  be  the  singer.  The  old  woman  coughed,  and 
panted  ;  it  seemed  as  if  she  never  would  get  over  her 
fatigue  ;  she  patted  the  little  dog,  she  talked  with  the  bird, 
which  only  answered  her  with  its  accustomed  song  ;  and 
for  me,  she  did  not  seem  to  recollect  that  I  was  there  at  all. 
Looking  at  her  so,  many  qualms  and  fears  came  over  me, 
for  her  face  was  in  perpetual  motion  ;  and,  besides,  her 
head  shook  from  old  age,  so  that  for  my  life  I  could  not 
understand  what  sort  of  countenance  she  had. 

"  Having  gathered  strength  again,  she  lit  a  candle,  cov- 
ered a  very  small  table,  and  brought  out  supper.  She  now 
looked  round  for  me,  and  bade  me  take  a  little  cane  chair. 
I  was  thus  sitting  close  fronting  her,  with  the  light  between 
us.  She  folded  her  bony  hands,  and  prayed  aloud,  still 
twisting  her  countenance,  so  that  I  was  once  more  on  the 
point  of  laughing  ;  but  I  took  strict  care  that  I  might  not 
make  her  angry. 

"  After  supper  she  again  prayed,  then  showed  me  a  bed 
in  a  low,  narrow  closet;  she  herself  slept  in  the  room.  I  did 
not  watch  long,  for  I  was  half  stupefied ;  but  in  the  night  I 
now  and  then  awoke,  and  heard  the  old  woman  coughing, 
and  between  whiles  talking  with  her  dog  and  her  bird, 
which  last  seemed  dreaming,  and  replied  with  only  one  or 
two  words  of  its  rhyme.  This,  with  the  birches  rustling 
before  the  window,  and  the  song  of  a  distant  nightingale, 
made  such  a  wondrous  combination,  that  I  never  fairly 
thought  I  was  awake,  but  only  falling  out  of  one  dream  into 
another  still  stranger. 

"  The  old  woman   awoke   me   in  the  morning,  and  soon 


THE    FAIR-HA.IRED    ECKBERT. 


293 


after  gave  me  work.  I  was  put  to  spin,  which  I  now  learned 
very  easily ;  I  had  likewise  to  take  charge  of  the  dog  and 
the  bird.  I  soon  learned  my  business  in  the  house  ;  I  now 
felt  as  if  it  all  must  be  so  ;  I  never  once  remembered  that 
the  old  woman  had  so  many  singularities,  that  her  dwelling 
was  mysterious,  and  lay  apart  from  all  men,  and  that  the 
bird  must  be  a  very  strange  creature.  Its  beauty,  indeed, 
always  struck  me,  for  its  feathers  glittered  with  all  possible 
colors  ;  the  fairest  deep  blue  and  the  most  burning  red 
alternated  about  his  neck  and  body ;  and  when  singing,  he 
blew  himself  proudly  out,  so  that  his  feathers  looked  still  finer. 

"  My  old  mistress  often  went  abroad,  and  did  not  come 
again  till  night ;  on  these  occasions  I  went  out  to  meet  her 
with  the  dog,  and  she  used  to  call  me  child,  and  daughter. 
In  the  end  I  grew  to  like  her  heartily  ;  as  our  mind,  espe- 
cially in  childhood,  will  become  accustomed  and  attached  to 
anything.  In  the  evenings  she  taught  me  to  read  ;  and  this 
was  afterwards  a  source  of  boundless  satisfaction  to  me  in 
my  solitude,  for  she  had  several  ancient-written  books,  that 
contained  the  strangest  stories. 

"  The  recollection  of  the  life  I  then  led  is  still  singular  to 
me  ;  visited  by  no  human  creature,  secluded  in  the  circle 
of  so  small  a  family;  for  the  dog  and  the  bird  made  the 
same  impression  on  me  which  in  other  cases  long-known 
friends  produce.  I  am  surprised  that  I  have  never  since 
been  able  to  recall  the  dog's  name,  a  very  odd  one,  often  as 
I  then  pronounced  it. 

"Four  years  I  had  passed  in  this  way  (  I  must  now  have 
been  nearly  twelve),  when  my  old  dame  began  to  put  more 
trust  in  me,  and  at  length  told  me  a  secret.  The  bird,  I 
found,  laid  every  day  an  egg,  in  which  there  was  a  pearl  or 
a  jewel.  I  had  already  noticed  that  she  often  went  to  fettle 
privately  about  the  cage,  but  I  had  never  troubled  myself 
farther  on  the  subject.  She  now  gave  me  charge  of  gather- 
25* 


294  TIECK. 

ing  these  eggs  in  her  absence,  and  carefully  storing  them 
up  in  the  strange  looking  pots.  She  would  leave  me  food, 
and  sometimes  stay  away  longer,  for  weeks,  for  months. 
My  little  wheel  kept  humming  round,  the  dog  barked,  the 
bird  sang  ;  and  withal  there  was  such  a  stillness  in  the 
neighborhood,  that  I  do  not  recollect  of  any  storm  or  foul 
weather  all  the  time  I  staid  there.  No  one  wandered 
thither;  no  wild  beast  came  near  our  dwelling  ;  I  was  satis- 
fied, and  worked  along  in  peace  from  day  to  day.  One 
would  perhaps  be  very  happy,  could  he  pass  his  life  so  un- 
disturbedly to  the  end. 

"  From  the  little  that  I  read,  I  formed  quite  marvellous 
notions  of  the  world  and  its  people  ;  all  taken  from  myself 
and  my  society.  When  I  read  of  witty  persons,  I  could  not 
figure  them  but  like  the  little  shock  ;  great  ladies,  I  con- 
ceived, were  like  the  bird;  all  old  women,  like  my  mistress. 
I  had  read  somewhat  of  love,  too  ;  and  often,  in  fancy,  I  would 
sport  strange  stories  with  myself.  I  figured  out  the  fairest 
knight  on  Earth  ;  adorned  him  with  all  perfections,  without 
knowing  rightly,  after  all  my  labor,  how  he  looked  ;  but  I 
could  feel  a  hearty  pity  for  myself  when  he  ceased  to  love 
me  ;  I  would  then,  in  thought,  make  long,  melting  speeches, 
or  perhaps  aloud,  to  try  if  I  could  win  him  back.  You 
smile  !  These  young  days  are,  in  truth,  far  away  from  us 
all. 

"  I  now  liked  better  to  be  left  alone,  for  I  was  then  sole 
mistress  of  the  house.  The  dog  loved  me,  and  did  all  I 
wanted  ;  the  bird  replied  to  all  my  questions  with  his  rhyme  ; 
my  wheel  kept  briskly  turning,  and  at  bottom  I  had  never 
any  wish  for  change.  When  my  dame  returned  from  her 
long  wanderings,  she  would  praise  my  diligence  ;  she  said 
her  house,  since  I  belonged  to  it,  was  managed  far  more 
perfectly  ;  she  took  a  pleasure  in  my  growth  and  healthy 
looks ;  in  short,  she  treated  me  in  all  points  like  her 
daughter. 


THE    FAIR-HAIRED    ECKBERT.  295 

"  '  Thou  art  a  good  girl,  child,'  said  she  once  to  me,  in 
her  creaking  tone  ;  l  if  thou  continuest  so,  it  will  be  well  with 
thee  ;  but  none  ever  prospers  when  he  leaves  the  straight 
path  ;  punishment  will  overtake  him,  though  it  may  be  late.' 
I  gave  little  heed  to  this  remark  of  hers  at  the  time,  for  in 
all  my  temper  and  movements  I  was  very  lively  ;  but  by 
night  it  occurred  to  me  again,  and  I  could  not  understand 
what  she  meant  by  it.  I  considered  all  the  words  attentively; 
I  had  read  of  riches,  and  at  last  it  struck  me  that  her  pearls 
and  jewels  might  perhaps  be  something  precious.  Ere  long,, 
this  thought  grew  clearer  to  me.  Bui  the  straight  path,  and 
leaving  it?      What  could  she  mean  by  this? 

"  I  was  now  fourteen  ;  it  is  the  misery  of  man  that  he 
arrives  at  understanding  through  the  loss  of  innocence.  I 
now  saw  well  enough  that  it  lay  with  me  to  take  the  jewels 
and  the  bird  in  the  old  woman's  absence,  and  go  forth  with 
them  and  see  the  world  which  I  had  read  of.  Perhaps,  too, 
it  would  then  be  possible  that  I  might  meet  that  fairest  of 
all  knights,  who  forever  dwelt  in  my  memory. 

"At  first  this  thought  was  nothing  more  than  any  other 
thought;  but  when  I  used  to  be  sitting  at  my  wheel,  it  still 
returned  to  me,  against  my  will ;  and  I  sometimes  followed 
it  so  far,  that  I  already  saw  myself  adorned  in  splendid 
attire,  with  princes  and  knights  around  me.  On  awakening 
from  these  dreams,  I  would  feel  a  sadness  when  I  looked 
up,  and  found  myself  still  in  the  little  cottage.  For  the 
rest,  if  I  went  through  my  duties,  the  old  woman  troubled 
herself  little  about  what  I  thought  or  felt. 

"  One  day  she  went  out  again,  telling  me  that  she  should 
be  away  on  this  occasion  longer  than  usual  ;  that  I  must 
take  strict  charge  of  everything,  and  not  let  the  time  hang 
heavy  on  my  hands.  I  had  a  sort  of  fear  on  taking  leave  of 
her,  for  I  felt  as  if  I  should  not  see  her  any  more.  I  looked 
long  after  her,  and   knew  not  why  I  felt  so   sad ;    it   was 


296  TIECK. 

almost  as  if  my  purpose  had  already  stood  before  me,  with- 
out myself  being  conscious  of  it. 

"  Never  did  I  tend  the  dog  and  the  bird  with  such  dili- 
gence as  now  ;  they  were  nearer  to  my  heart  than  formerly. 
The  old  woman  had  been  gone  some  days,  when  I  rose  one 
morning  in  the  firm  mind  to  leave  the  cottage,  and  set  out 
with  the  bird  to  see  this  world  they  talked  so  much  of.  I 
felt  pressed  and  hampered  in  my  heart ;  I  wished  to  stay 
where  I  was,  and  yet  the  thought  of  that  afflicted  me  ;  there 
was  a  strange  contention  in  my  soul,  as  if  between  two 
discordant  spirits.  One  moment  my  peaceful  solitude  would 
seem  to  me  so  beautiful ;  the  next  the  image  of  a  new  world, 
with  its  many  wonders,  would  again  enchant  me. 

"I  knew  not  what  to  make  of  it;  the  dog  leaped  up 
continually  about  me  ;  the  sunshine  spread  abroad  over  the 
fields ;  the  green  birch-trees  glittered  ;  I  always  felt  as  if 
I  had  something  I  must  do  in  haste  ;  so  I  caught  the  little 
dog,  tied  him  up  in  the  room,  and  took  the  cage  with  the 
bird  under  my  arm.  The  dog  writhed  and  whined  at  this 
unusual  treatment ;  he  looked  at  me  with  begging  eyes, 
but  I  feared  to  have  him  with  me.  I  also  took  one  pot  of 
jewels,  and  concealed  it  by  me  ;  the  rest  I  left. 

"  The  bird  turned  its  head  very  strangely  when  I  crossed 
the  threshold  ;  the  dog  tugged  at  his  cord  to  follow  me,  but 
he  was  forced  to  stay. 

"  I  did  not  take  the  road  to  the  wild  rocks,  but  went  in 
the  opposite  direction.  The  dog  still  whined  and  barked, 
and  it  touched  me  to  the  heart  to  hear  him;  the  bird  tried 
once  or  twice  to  sing;  but  as  I  was  carrying  him,  the  shak- 
ing put  him  out. 

"  The  farther  I  went,  the  fainter  grew  the  barking,  and 
at  last  it  altogether  ceased.  I  wept,  and  had  almost  turned 
back,  but  the  longing  to  see  something  new  still  hindered 
me. 


THE    FAIR-HAIRED    ECKBERT.  297 

"  I  had  got  across  the  hills,  and  through  some  forests, 
when  the  night  came  on,  and  I  was  forced  to  turn  aside 
into  a  village.  I  blushed  exceedingly  on  entering  the  inn; 
they  showed  me  to  a  room  and  bed  ;  I  slept  pretty  quietly, 
only  that  I  dreamed  of  the  old  woman,  and  her  threaten- 
ing me. 

"My  journey  had  not  much  variety;  the  farther  I  went, 
the  more  was  1  afflicted  by  the  recollection  of  my  old  mis- 
tress and  the  little  dog;  I  considered  that  in  all  likelihood 
the  poor  shock  would  die  of  hunger,  and  often  in  the  woods 
I  thought  my  dame  would  suddenly  meet  me.  Thus  amid 
tears  and  sobs  I  went  along  ;  when  I  stopped  to  rest,  and 
put  the  cage  on  the  ground,  the  bird  struck  up  his  song, 
and  brought  but  too  keenly  to  my  mind  the  fair  habitation 
I  had  left.  As  human  nature  is  forgetful,  I  imagined  that 
my  former  journey,  in  my  childhood,  had  not  been  so  sad 
and  woful  as  the  present ;  I  wished  to  be  as  I  was  then. 

"I  had  sold  some  jewels;  and  now,  after  wandering  on 
for  several  days,  I  reached  a  village.  At  the  very  entrance 
I  was  struck  with  something  strange  ;  I  felt  terrified  and 
knew  not  why  ;  but  I  soon  bethought  myself,  for  it  was  the 
village  where  I  was  born!  How  amazed  was  I!  How  the 
tears  ran  down  my  cheeks  for  gladness,  for  a  thousand 
singular  remembrances!  Many  things  were  changed;  new 
houses  had  been  built,  some,  just  raised  when  I  went  away, 
were  now  fallen,  and  had  marks  of  fire  on  them  ;  every- 
thing was  far  smaller  and  more  confined  than  I  had  fancied. 
It  rejoiced  my  very  heart  that  I  should  see  my  parents 
once  more  after  such  an  absence  ;  I  found  their  little  cot- 
tage, the  well-known  threshold  ;  the  door-latch  was  standing 
as  of  old  ;  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  had  shut  it  only  yester- 
night. My  heart  beat  violently,  I  hastily  lifted  that  latch  ; 
but  faces  I  had  never  seen  before  looked  up  and  gazed  at 
me.     I  asked  for  the  shepherd  Martin ;    they  told  me  that 


298  TIECK. 

his  wife  and  he  were  dead  three  years  ago.  I  drew  back 
quickly,  and  left  the  village  weeping  aloud. 

a  I  had  figured  out  so  beautifully  how  I  would  surprise 
them  with  my  riches  ;  by  the  strangest  chance,  what  I  had 
only  dreamed  in  childhood  was  become  reality  ;  and  now  it 
was  all  in  vain,  they  could  not  rejoice  with  me,  and  that 
which  had  been  my  first  hope  in  life  was  lost  forever. 

"  In  a  pleasant  town  I  hired  a  small  house  and  garden, 
and  took  myself  a  maid.  The  world,  in  truth,  proved  not 
so  wonderful  as  I  had  painted  it  ;  but  I  forgot  the  old  wo- 
man and  my  former  way  of  life  rather  more,  and  on  the 
whole  I  was  contented. 

"  For  a  long  while  the  bird  had  ceased  to  sing  ;  I  was 
therefore  not  a  little  frightened,  when  one  night  he  suddenly 
began  again,  and  with  a  different  rhyme.     He  sang  : 

Alone  in  wood  so  gay, 
Ah,  far  away ! 
But  thou  wilt  say 
Some  other  day, 
'T  were  best  to  stay 
Alone  in  wood  so  gay. 

"  Throughout  the  night  I  could  not  close  an  eye  ;  all 
things  again  occurred  to  my  remembrance  ;  and  I  felt,  more 
than  ever,  that  I  had  not  acted  rightly.  When  I  rose,  the 
aspect  of  the  bird  distressed  me  greatly  ;  he  looked  at  me 
continually,  and  his  presence  did  me  ill.  There  was  now 
no  end  to  his  song  ;  he  sang  it  louder  and  more  shrilly  than 
he  had  been  wont.  The  more  I  looked  at  him,  the  more  he 
pained  and  frightened  me;  at  last  I  opened  the  cage,  put  in 
my  hand,  and  grasped  his  neck  ;"  I  squeezed  my  fingers  hard 
together,  he  looked  at  me,  I  slackened  them  ;  but  he  was 
dead.     I  buried  him  in  the  garden. 

"  After  this,  there   often   came   a  fear  over  me  for  my 


THE    FAIR-HAIRED    ECKBERT.  299 

maid  ;  I  looked  back  upon  myself,  and  fancied  she  might 
rob  me  or  murder  me.  For  a  long  while,  I  had  been  ac- 
quainted with  a  young  knight,  whom  I  altogether  liked.  I 
bestowed  on  him  my  hand ;  and  with  this,  Sir  Walther,  ends 
my  story." 

"Ay,  you  should  have  seen  her  then,"  said  Eckbert 
warmly  ;  "  seen  her  youth,  her  loveliness,  and  what  a  charm 
her  lonely  way  of  life  had  given  her.  I  had  no  fortune ;  it 
was  through  her  love  these  riches  came  to  me ;  we  moved 
hither,  and  our  marriage  has  at  no  time  brought  us  anything 
but  good." 

"  But  with  our  tattling,"  added  Bertha,  "  it  is  growing 
very  late  ;  we  must  go  to  sleep." 

She  rose,  and  proceeded  to  her  chamber  ;  Walther,  with 
a  kiss  of  her  hand,  wished  her  good  night,  saying  :  "  Many 
thanks,  noble  lady  ;  I  can  well  figure  you  beside  your  sing- 
ing bird,  and  how  you  fed  poor  little  Stroh?nian." 

Walther  likewise  went  to  sleep  ;  Eckbert  alone  still  walk- 
ed in  a  restless  humor  up  and  down  the  room.  "  Are  not 
men  fools  ?  "  said  he  at  last.  "  I  myself  occasioned  this 
recital  of  my  wife's  history,  and  now  such  confidence  ap- 
pears to  me  improper!  Will  he  not  abuse  it  ?  Will  he  not 
communicate  the  secret  to  others  ?  Will  he  not,  for  such  is 
human  nature,  cast  unblessed  thoughts  on  our  jewels,  and 
form  pretexts  and  lay  plans  to  get  possession  of  them  ?  " 

It  now  occurred  to  his  mind  that  Walther  had  not  taken 
leave  of  him  so  cordially  as  might  have  been  expected  after 
such  a  mark  of  trust.  The  soul  once  set  upon  suspicion  finds 
in  every  trifle  something  to  confirm  it.  Eckbert,  on  the 
other  hand,  reproached  himself  for  such  ignoble  feelings  to 
his  worthy  friend  ;  yet  still  he  could  not  cast  them  out.  All 
night  he  plagued  himself  with  such  uneasy  thoughts,  and  got 
very  little  sleep. 

Bertha   was   unwell    next  day,  and   could  not  come  to 


300  TIECK. 

breakfast;  Walther  did  not  seem  to  trouble  bimself  much 
about  her  illness,  but  left  her  husband  also  rather  coolly. 
Eckbert  could  not  comprehend  such  conduct ;  he  went  to 
see  his  wife,  and  found  her  in  a  feverish  state  ;  she  said  her 
last  night's  story  must  have  agitated  her. 

From  that  day,  Walther  visited  the  castle  of  his  friend 
but  seldom  ;  and  when  he  did  appear,  it  was  but  to  say  a 
few  unmeaning  words  and  then  depart.  Eckbert  was  ex- 
ceedingly distressed  by  this  demeanor;  to  Bertha  or  Wal- 
ther he  indeed  said  nothing  of  it ;  but  to  any  person  his  in- 
ternal disquietude  was  visible  enough. 

Bertha's  sickness  wore  an  aspect  more  and  more  serious  ; 
the  Doctor  grew  alarmed  ;  the  red  had  vanished  from  his 
patient's  cheeks,  and  her  eyes  were  becoming  more  and 
more  inflamed.  One  morning  she  sent  for  her  husband  to 
her  bedside  ;  the  nurses  were  ordered  to  withdraw. 

"Dear  Eckbert,"  she  began,  "  I  must  disclose  a  secret  to 
thee,  which  has  almost  taken  away  my  senses,  which  is  ru- 
ining my  health,  unimportant  trifle  as  it  may  appear.  Thou 
mayest  remember,  often  as  I  talked  of  my  childhood,  I  could 
never  call  to  mind  the  name  of  the  dog  that  was  so  long 
beside  me  ;  now,  that  night  on  taking  leave,  Walther  all  at 
once  said  to  me  :  c  I  can  well  figure  you,  and  how  you  fed 
poor  little  Strohmian.'  Is  it  chance?  Did  he  guess  the 
name;  did  he  know  it,  and  speak  it  on  purpose?  If  so, 
how  stands  this  man  connected  with  my  destiny?  At  times 
I  struggle  with  myself,  as  if  I  but  imagined  this  mysterious 
business  ;  but,  alas  !  it  is  certain,  too  certain.  I  felt  a  shud- 
der that  a  stranger  should  help  me  to  recall  the  memory  of 
my  secrets.     What  sayest  thou,  Eckbert?  " 

Eckbert  looked  at  his  sick  and  agitated  wife  with  deep 
emotion  ;  he  stood  silent  and  thoughtful  ;  then  spoke  some 
words  of  comfort  to  her,  and  went  out.  In  a  distant  cham- 
ber he  walked  to  and  fro   in  indescribable  disquiet.     Wal- 


THE    FAIR-HAIRED    ECKBERT.  301 

ther,  for  many  years,  had  been  his  sole  companion ;  and 
now  this  person  was  the  only  mortal  in  the  world  whose  ex- 
istence pained  and  oppressed  him.  It  seemed  as  if  he 
should  be  gay  and  light  of  heart,  were  that  one  thing  but 
removed.  He  took  his  bow,  to  dissipate  these  thoughts; 
and  went  to  hunt. 

It  was  a  rough,  stormy,  winter  day ;  the  snow  was  lying 
deep  on  the  hills,  and  bending  down  the  branches  of  the 
trees.  He  roved  about ;  the  sweat  was  standing  on  his  brow ; 
he  found  no  game,  and  this  embittered  his  ill-humor.  All 
at  once  he  saw  an  object  moving  in  the  distance  ;  it  was 
Walther  gathering  moss  from  the  trunks  of  trees.  Scarce 
knowing  what  he  did,  he  bent  his  bow  ;  Walther  looked 
round,  and  gave  a  threatening  gesture,  but  the  arrow  was 
already  flying,  and  he  sank  transfixed  by  it. 

Eckbert  felt  relieved  and  calmed,  yet  a  certain  horror 
drove  him  home  to  his  castle.  It  was  a  good  way  distant ; 
he  had  wandered  far  into  the  woods.  On  arriving,  he  found 
Bertha  dead  ;  before  her  death,  she  had  spoken  much  of 
Walther  and  the  old  woman. 

For  a  great  while  after  this  occurrence,  Eckbert  lived  in 
the  deepest  solitude  ;  he  had  all  along  been  melancholy,  for 
the  strange  history  of  his  wife  disturbed  him,  and  he  dreaded 
some  unlucky  incident  or  other ;  but  at  present  he  was 
utterly  at  variance  with  himself.  The  murder  of  his  friend 
arose  incessantly  before  his  mind  ;  he  lived  in  the  anguish 
of  continual  remorse. 

To  dissipate  his  feelings,  he  occasionally  moved  to  the 
neighboring  town,  where  he  mingled  in  society  and  its 
amusements.  He  longed  for  a  friend  to  fill  the  void  in  his 
soul ;  and  yet,  when  he  remembered  Walther,  he  would 
shudder  at  the  thought  of  meeting  with  a  friend ;  for  he 
felt  convinced  that,  with  any  friend,  he  must  be  unhappy. 
He  had  lived  so  long  with  his  Bertha  in  lovely  calmness  ; 

vol.  i.  26 


302  TIECK. 

the  friendship  of  Walther  had  cheered  him  through  so  many- 
years  ;  and  now  both  of  them  were  suddenly  swept  away. 
As  he  thought  of  these  things,  there  were  many  moments 
when  his  life  appeared  to  him  some  fabulous  tale,  rather 
than  the  actual  history  of  a  living  man. 

A  young  knight,  named  Hugo,  made  advances  to  the 
silent,  melancholy  Eckbert,  and  appeared  to  have  a  true 
affection  for  him.  Eckbert  felt  himself  exceedingly  sur- 
prised ;  he  met  the  knight's  friendship  with  the  greater 
readiness,  the  less  he  had  anticipated  it.  The  two  were  now 
frequently  together ;  Hugo  showed  his  friend  all  possible 
attentions  ;  one  scarcely  ever  went  to  ride  without  the  other  ; 
in  all  companies  they  got  together.  In  a  word,  they  seemed 
inseparable. 

Eckbert  was  never  happy  longer  than  a  few  transitory 
moments  ;  for  he  felt  too  clearly  that  Hugo  loved  him  only 
by  mistake  ;  that  he  knew  him  not,  was  unacquainted  with 
his  history ;  and  he  was  seized  again  with  the  same  old 
longing  to  unbosom  himself  wholly,  that  he  might  be  sure 
whether  Hugo  was  his  friend  or  not.  But  again  his  appre- 
hensions, and  the  fear  of  being  hated  and  abhorred,  with- 
held him.  There  were  many  hours  in  which  he  felt  so 
much  impressed  with  his  entire  worthlessness,  that  he  be- 
lieved no  mortal,  not  a  stranger  to  his  history,  could  enter- 
tain regard  for  him.  Yet  still  he  was  unable  to  withstand 
himself;  on  a  solitary  ride,  he  disclosed  his  whole  history  to 
Hugo,  and  asked  if  he  could  love  a  murderer.  Hugo  seemed 
touched,  and  tried  to  comfort  him.  Eckbert  returned  to 
town  with  a  lighter  heart. 

But  it  seemed  to  be  his  doom  that,  in  the  very  hour  of 
confidence,  he  should  always  find  materials  for  suspicion. 
Scarcely  had  they  entered  the  public  hall,  when,  in  the 
crlitter  of  the  many  lights,  Hugo's  looks  had  ceased  to  sat- 
isfy  him.     He  thought   he  noticed  a   malicious  smile  ;  he 


THE    FAIR-HAIRED    ECKBERT.  303 

remarked  that  Hugo  did  not  speak  to  him  as  usual ;  that  he 
talked  with  the  rest,  and  seemed  to  pay  no  heed  to  him.  In 
the  party  was  an  old  knight,  who  had  always  shown  himself 
the  enemy  of  Eckbert,  had  often  asked  about  his  riches 
and  his  wife  in  a  peculiar  style.  With  this  man  Hugo  was 
conversing,  they  were  speaking  privately,  and  casting  looks 
at  Eckbert.  The  suspicions  of  the  latter  seemed  confirmed  ; 
he  thought  himself  betrayed,  and  a  tremendous  rage  took 
hold  of  him.  As  he  continued  gazing,  on  a  sudden  he 
discerned  the  countenance  of  Walther,  all  his  features,  all 
the  form  so  well  known  to  him  ;  he  gazed,  and  looked,  and 
felt  convinced  that  it  was  none  but  Walther  who  was  talk- 
ing to  the  knight.  His  horror  cannot  be  described  ;  in  a 
state  of  frenzy  he  rushed  out  of  the  hall,  left  the  town 
over  night,  and,  after  many  wanderings,  returned  to  his 
castle. 

Here,  like  an  unquiet  spirit,  he  hurried  to  and  fro  from 
room  to  room ;  no  thought  would  stay  with  him  ;  out  of  one 
frightful  idea  he  fell  into  another  still  more  frightful,  and 
sleep  never  visited  his  eyes.  Often  he  believed  that  he  was 
mad,  that  a  disturbed  imagination  was  the  origin  of  all  this 
terror  ;  then,  again,  he  recollected  Walther's  features,  and 
the  whole  grew  more  and  more  a  riddle  to  him.  He  re- 
solved to  take  a  journey,  that  he  might  reduce  his  thoughts 
to  order  ;  the  hope  of  friendship,  the  desire  of  social  inter- 
course, he  had  now  forever  given  up. 

He  set  out,  without  prescribing  to  himself  any  certain 
route  ;  indeed,  he  took  small  heed  of  the  country  he  was 
passing  through.  Having  hastened  on  some  days  at  the 
quickest  pace  of  his  horse,  he,  on  a  sudden,  found  himself 
entangled  in  a  labyrinth  of  rocks,  from  which  he  could  dis- 
cover no  outlet.  At  length  he  met  an  old  peasant,  who  took 
him  by  a  path  leading  past  a  waterfall ;  he  offered  him  some 
coins  for  his  guidance,  but  the  peasant  would  not  have  them. 


304 


TIECK. 


"  What  use  is  it  ?  "  said  Eckbert.  "  I  could  believe  that 
this  man,  too,  was  none  but  Walther."  He  looked  round 
once  more,  and  it  was  none  but  Walther.  Eckbert  spurred 
his  horse  as  fast  as  it  could  gallop  over  meads  and  forests, 
till  it  sank  exhausted  to  the  earth.  Regardless  of  this  he 
hastened  forward  on  foot. 

In  a  dreamy  mood  he  mounted  a  hill ;  he  fancied  he 
caught  the  sound  of  lively  barking  at  a  little  distance ;  the 
birch-trees  whispered  in  the  intervals,  and  in  the  strangest 
notes  he  heard  this  song  : 

Alone  in  the  wood  so  gay, 
Once  more  I  stay  ; 
None  dare  me  slay, 
The  evil  far  away  : 
Ah,  here  I  stay, 
Alone  in  wood  so  gay. 

The  sense,  the  consciousness  of  Eckbert  had  departed  ; 
it  was  a  riddle  which  he  could  not  solve,  whether  he  was 
dreaming  now,  or  had  before  dreamed  of  a  wife  and  friend. 
The  marvellous  was  mingled  with  the  common  ;  the  world 
around  him  seemed  enchanted,  and  he  himself  was  incapa- 
ble of  thought  or  recollection. 

A  crooked,  bent,  old  woman  crawled  coughing  up  the  hill 
with  a  crutch.  "  Art  thou  bringing  me  my  bird,  my  pearls, 
my  dog?  "  cried  she  to  him.  "  See  how  injustice  punishes 
itself !  No  one  but  I  was  Walther,  was  Hugo." 

"God  of  Heaven!"  said  Eckbert,  muttering  to  him- 
self; "  in  what  frightful  solitude  have  I  passed  my  life  ?  " 

"  And  Bertha  was  thy  sister." 

Eckbert  sank  to  the  ground. 

"  Why  did  she  leave  me  deceitfully  ?  All  would  have 
been  fair  and  well ;  her  time  of  trial  was  already  finished. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  a  knight,  who  had  her  nursed  in  a 
shepherd's  house  *,  the  daughter  of  thy  father." 


THE    FAIR-HAIRED    ECKBERT.  305 

"  Why  have  I  always  had  a  forecast  of  this  dreadful 
thought  ?  "  cried  Eckbert. 

"  Because  in  early  youth  thy  father  told  thee ;  he  could 
not  keep  this  daughter  by  him  for  his  second  wife,  her  step- 
mother." 

Eckbert  lay  distracted  and  dying  on  the  ground.  Faint 
and  bewildered,  he  heard  the  old  woman  speaking,  the  dog 
barking,  and  the  bird  repeating  its  song. 


26 


II. 
THE    TRUSTY    ECKART 


PART    FIRST. 

Brave  Burgundy  no  longer 
Could  fight  for  fatherland  ; 

The  foe  they  were  the  stronger, 
Upon  the  bloody  sand. 

He  said  :  The  foe  prevaileth, 
My  friends  and  followers  fly, 

My  striving  nought  availeth, 
My  spirits  sink  and  die. 

No  more  can  I  exert  me, 

Or  sword  and  lance  can  wield  ; 

O,  why  did  he  desert  me, 
Eckart,  our  trusty  shield  ! 

In  fight  he  used  to  guide  me, 
In  danger  Avas  my  stay, 

Alas  !  he 's  not  beside  me, 
But  stays  at  home  to-day. 

The  crowds  are  gathering  faster, 
Took  captive  shall  I  be  ? 

I  may  not  run  like  dastard, 
I  '11  die  like  soldier  free. 

Thus  Burgundy  so  bitter 
Has  at  his  breast  his  sword  ; 

When,  see !  breaks  in  the  Ritter 
Eckart,  to  save  his  lord ! 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  307 

With  cap  and  armor  glancing1, 

Bold  on  the  foe  he  rides, 
His  troop  behind  him  prancing, 

And  his  two  sons  besides. 

Burgundy  sees  their  token, 

And  cries :  Now,  God  be  praised ! 

Not  yet  we  're  beat  or  broken, 
Since  Eckart's  flag  is  raised. 

Then  like  a  true  knight,  Eckart 

Dash'd  gaily  through  the  foe  ; 
But  with  his  red  blood  flecker'd, 

His  little  son  lay  low. 

And  when  the  fight  was  ended, 

Then  Burgundy  he  speaks  : 
Thou  hast  me  well  befriended, 

Yet  so  as  wets  my  cheeks. 

The  foe  is  smote  and  flying ; 

Thou  'st  saved  my  land  and  life ; 
But  here  thy  boy  is  lying, 

Returns  not  from  the  strife. 

Then  Eckart  wept  almost, 

The  tear  stood  in  his  eye  ; 
He  clasp'd  the  son  he  'd  lost, 

Close  to  his  breast  the  boy. 

Why  died'st  thou,  Heinz,  so  early, 

And  scarce  wast  yet  a  man  ? 
Thou  'rt  fallen  in  battle  fairly  ; 

For  thee  I  '11  not  complain. 

Thee,  Prince,  we  have  deliver'd  ; 

From  danger  thou  art  free ; 
The  boy  and  I  are  sever'd  ; 

I  give  my  son  to  thee. 


308  TIECK. 

Then  Burgundy  our  chief, 

His  eyes  grew  moist  and  dim  ; 

He  felt  such  joy  and  grief, 
So  great  that  love  to  him. 

His  heart  was  melting,  flaming, 

He  fell  on  Eckart's  breast, 
With  sobbing  voice  exclaiming  : 

Eckart,  my  champion  best, 

Thou  stood'st  when  every  other 

Had  fled  from  me  away  ; 
Therefore  thou  art  my  brother 

Forever  from  this  day. 

The  people  shall  regard  thee 

As  wert  thou  of  my  line; 
And  could  I  more  reward  thee, 

How  gladly  were  it  thine! 

And  when  we  heard  the  same, 

We  joy'd  as  did  our  prince  ; 
And  Trusty  Eckart  is  the  name 

We  've  called  him  ever  since. 

The  voice  of  an  old  peasant  sounded  over  the  rocks  as 
he  sang  this  ballad  ;  and  the  trusty  Eckart  sat,  in  his  grief, 
on  the  declivity  of  the  hill,  and  wept  aloud.  His  youngest 
boy  was  standing  by  him.  "  Why  weepest  thou  aloud,  my 
father  Eckart  ?  "  said  he  ;  "  art  thou  not  great  and  strong, 
taller  and  braver  than  any  other  man  ?  Whom,  then,  art 
thou  afraid  of  ?  " 

Meanwhile  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  moving  homewards 
to  his  Tower.  Burgundy  was  mounted  on  a  stately  horse, 
with  splendid  trappings  ;  and  the  gold  and  jewels  of  the 
princely  Duke  were  glittering  in  the  evening  sun  ;  so  that 
little  Conrad  could  not  sate  himself  with  viewing  and  admir- 
ing the   magnificent  procession.     The  trusty  Eckart  rose, 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  309 

and  looked  gloomily  over  it ;  and   young  Conrad,  when  the 
hunting  train  had  disappeared,  struck  up  this  stave  : 

On  good  steed, 

Sword  and  shield 

Wouldst  thou  wield, 

With  spear  and  arrow, 

Then  had  need 

That  the  marroAv 

In  thy  arm, 

That  thy  heart  and  blood, 

Be  good, 

To  save  thy  head  from  harm. 

The  old  man  clasped  his  son  to  his  bosom,  looking  with 
wistful  tenderness  on  his  clear  blue  eyes.  "  Didst  thou  hear 
that  good  man's  song  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Ay,  why  not  ?  "  answered  Conrad  ;  "  he  sang  it  loud 
enough,  and  thou  art  the  trusty  Eckart  thyself,  so  I  liked  to 
listen." 

"  That  same  Duke  is  now  my  enemy,"  said  Eckart ;  "  he 
keeps  my  other  son  in  prison,  nay,  has  already  put  him  to 
death,  if  I  may  credit  what  the  people  say." 

"  Take  down  thy  broad-sword,  and  do  not  suffer  it,"  cried 
Conrad  ;  "  they  will  tremble  to  see  thee,  and  all  the  people 
in  the  whole  land  will  stand  by  thee,  for  thou  art  their 
greatest  hero  in  the  land." 

"Not  so,  my  son,"  said  the  other;  "I  were  then  the 
man  my  enemies  have  called  me  ;  I  dare  not  be  unfaithful 
to  my  liege  ;  no,  I  dare  not  break  the  peace  which  I  have 
pledged  to  him,  and  promised  on  his  hand." 

"  But  what  wants  he  with  us,  then  ? "  said  Conrad,  im- 
patiently. 

Eckart  sat  down  again,  and  said  :  "  My  son,  the  entire 
story  of  it  would  be  long,  and  thou  wouldst  scarcely  under- 
stand it.     The  great  have  always  their  worst  enemy  in  their 


310  TIECK. 

own  hearts,  and  they  fear  it  day  and  night ;  so  Burgundy 
has  now  come  to  think  that  he  has  trusted  me  too  far ;  that 
he  has  nursed  in  me  a  serpent  in  his  bosom.  People  call 
me  the  stoutest  warrior  in  our  country  ;  they  say  openly 
that  he  owes  me  land  and  life  ;  I  am  named  the  Trusty 
Eckart ;  and  thus  oppressed  and  suffering  persons  turn  to 
me,  that  I  may  get  them  help.  All  this  he  cannot  suffer. 
So  he  has  taken  up  a  grudge  against  me  ;  and  every  one 
that  wants  to  rise  in  favor  with  him  increases  his  distrust  ; 
so  that  at  last  he  has  quite  turned  away  his  heart  from 
me." 

Hereupon  the  hero  Eckart  told,  in  smooth  words,  how 
Burgundy  had  banished  him  from  his  sight,  how  they  had 
become  entire  strangers  to  each  other,  as  the  Duke  sus- 
pected that  he  even  meant  to  rob  him  of  his  dukedom.  In 
trouble  and  sorrow,  he  proceeded  to  relate  how  the  Duke 
had  cast  his  son  into  confinement,  and  was  threatening  the 
life  of  Eckart  himself,  as  of  a  traitor  to  the  land. 

But  Conrad  said  to  his  father  :  "  Wilt  thou  let  me  go, 
my  old  father,  and  speak  with  the  Duke,  to  make  him 
reasonable  and  kind  to  thee  ?  If  he  has  killed  my  brother, 
then  he  is  a  wicked  man,  and  thou  must  punish  him  ;  but 
that  cannot  be,  for  he  could  not  so  falsely  forget  the  great 
service  thou  hast  done  him." 

"  Dost  thou  know  the  old  proverb  ?  "  said  Eckart ; 

"  Doth  the  king  require  thy  aid, 
Thou  'rt  a  friend  can  ne'er  be  paid  ; 
Hast  thou  help'd  him  through  his  trouble, 
Thy  friendship  is  an  empty  bubble. 
"Yes;  my  whole   life  has  been  wasted   in  vain.     Why 
did  he  make  me  great,  to  cast  me   down  the  deeper  ?     The 
friendship  of  princes  is  like  a  deadly  poison,  which  can  only 
be  employed  against  our  enemies,  and  with  which  at  last  we 
unwarily  kill  ourselves." 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  311 

"  I  will  to  the  Duke,"  cried  Conrad  ;  "  I  will  call  back 
into  his  soul  all  that  thou  hast  done,  that  thou  hast  suffered 
for  him ;  and  he  will  again  be  as  of  old." 

"  Thou  hast  forgot,"  said  Eckart,  "  that  they  look  on  us 
as  traitors.  Therefore  let  us  fly  together  to  some  foreign 
country,  where  a  better  fortune  may  betide  us." 

"  At  thy  age,"  said  Conrad,  "  wilt  thou  turn  away  thy 
face  from  thy  kind  home  ?  I  will  to  Burgundy  ;  I  will  quiet 
him,  and  reconcile  him  to  thee.  What  can  he  do  to  me, 
even  though  he  still  hate  and  fear  thee  ?  " 

"  I  let  thee  go  unwillingly,"  said  Eckart ;  "  for  my  soul 
forebodes  no  good ;  and  yet  I  would  fain  be  reconciled  to 
him,  for  he  is  my  old  friend  ;  and  fain  save  thy  brother,  who 
is  pining  in  the  dungeon  beside  him." 

The  sun  threw  his  last  mild  rays  on  the  green  Earth  ; 
Eckart  sat  pensively  leaning  back  against  a  tree ;  he  looked 
long  at  Conrad,  then  said  :  "  If  thou  wilt  go,  my  little  boy, 
go  now,  before  the  night  grow  altogether  dark.  The  win- 
dows in  the  Duke's  Castle  are  already  glittering  with  lights, 
and  I  hear  afar  off  the  sound  of  trumpets  from  the  feast ; 
perhaps  his  son's  bride  may  have  arrived,  and  his  mind  may 
be  friendlier  to  us." 

Unwillingly  he  let  him  go,  for  he  no  longer  trusted  to  his 
fortune ;  but  Conrad's  heart  was  light ;  for  he  thought  it 
would  be  an  easy  task  to  turn  the  mind  of  Burgundy,  who 
had  played  with  him  so  kindly  but  a  short  while  before. 
"  Wilt  thou  come  back  to  me,  my  little  boy  ?  "  sobbed 
Eckart ;  "  if  I  lose  thee,  no  other  of  my  race  remains." 
The  boy  consoled  him  ;  flattered  him  with  caresses  ;  at  last 
they  parted. 

Conrad  knocked  at  the  gate  of  the  Castle,  and  was  let  in  ; 
old  Eckart  stayed  without  in  the  night  alone.  "  Him  too  have 
I  lost,"  moaned  he  in  his  solitude  ;  "  I  shall  never  see  his 
face  again." 


312 


TIECK. 


Whilst  he  so  lamented,  there  came  tottering  towards  him 
a  grey-haired  man  ;  endeavoring  to  get  down  the  rocks  ; 
and  seeming,  at  every  step,  to  fear  that  he  should  stumble 
into  the  abyss.  Seeing  the  old  man's  feebleness,  Eckart 
held  out  his  hand  to  him,  and  helped  him  to  descend  in 
safety. 

"  Which  way  come  ye  ?  "  inquired  Eckart. 

The  old  man  sat  down,  and  began  to  weep,  so  that  the 
tears  came  running  over  his  cheeks.  Eckart  tried  to  soothe 
him  and  console  him  with  reasonable  words ;  but  the  sorrow- 
ful old  man  seemed  not  at  all  to  heed  these  well-meant 
speeches,  but  to  yield  himself  the  more  immoderately  to  his 
sorrows. 

"  What  grief  can  it  be  that  lies  so  heavy  on  you  as  to 
overpower  you  utterly  ?  "  said  Eckart. 

"  Ah,  my  children  !  "  moaned  the  old  man. 

Then  Eckart  thought  of  Conrad,  Heinz,  and  Dietrich, 
and  was  himself  altogether  comfortless.  "  Yes,"  said  he, 
"  if  your  children  are  dead,  your  misery  in  truth  is  very 
great.'" 

"  Worse  than  dead,"  replied  the  old  man,  with  his  mourn- 
ful voice  ;  "  for  they  are  not  dead,  but  lost  forever  to  me. 
Oh  !  would  to  Heaven  that  they  were  but  dead  !  " 

These  strange  words  astonished  Eckart,  and  he  asked 
the  old  man  to  explain  the  riddle ;  whereupon  the  latter 
answered  :  "  The  age  we  live  in  is  indeed  a  marvellous  age, 
and  surely  the  last  days  are  at  hand  ;  for  the  most  dreadful 
signs  are  sent  into  the  world  to  threaten  it.  Every  sort  of 
wickedness  is  casting  off  its  old  fetters,  and  stalking  bold 
and  free  about  the  Earth  ;  the  fear  of  God  is  drying  up  and 
dispersing,  and  can  find  no  channel  to  unite  in ;  and  the 
Powers  of  Evil  are  rising  audaciously  from  their  dark  nooks 
and  celebrating  their  triumph.  O,  my  dear  sir !  we  are  old, 
but  not  old  enough  for  such  prodigious  things.     You  have 


THE    TRUSTS    ECKART. 


313 


doubtless  seen  the  Comet,  that  wondrous  light  in  the  sky, 
that  shines  so  prophetically  down  upon  us  ?  All  men  pre- 
dict evil ;  and  no  one  thinks  of  beginning  the  reform  with 
himself,  and  so  essaying  to  turn  off  the  rod.  Nor  is  this 
enough  ;  but  portents  are  also  issuing  from  the  Earth,  and 
breaking  mysteriously  from  the  depths  below,  even  as  the 
light  shines  frightfully  on  us  from  above.  Have  you  never 
heard  of  the  Hill  which  people  call  the  Hill  of  Venus  ?  " 

"  Never,"  said  Eckart,  "  far  as  I  have  travelled." 

"  I  am  surprised  at  that,"  replied  the  old  man;  "  for  the 
matter  is  now  grown  as  notorious  as  it  is  true.  To  this 
Mountain  have  the  Devils  fled,  and  sought  shelter  in  the 
desert  centre  of  the  Earth,  according  as  the  growth  of  our 
Holy  Faith  has  cast  down  the  idolatrous  worship  of  the 
Heathen.  Here,  they  say,  before  all  others,  Lady  Venus 
keeps  her  court,  and  all  her  hellish  hosts  of  worldly  Lusts 
and  forbidden  Wishes  gather  round  her,  so  that  the  Hill  has 
been  accursed  since  time  immemorial." 

"  But  in  what  country  lies  the  Hill  ?  "  inquired  Eckart. 

"  There  is  the  secret,"  said  the  old  man,  "  that  no  one 
can  tell  this,  except  he  have  first  given  himself  up  to  be 
Satan's  servant;  and,  indeed,  no  guiltless  person  ever  thinks 
of  seeking  it  out.  A  wonderful  Musician  on  a  sudden  issues 
from  below,  whom  the  Powers  of  Hell  have  sent  as  their 
ambassador  ;  he  roams  through  the  world,  and  plays,  and 
makes  music  on  a  pipe,  so  that  his  tones  sound  far  and  wide. 
And  whoever  hears  these  sounds  is  seized  by  him  with 
visible  yet  inexplicable  force,  and  drawn  on,  on,  into  the 
wilderness;  he  sees  not  the  road  he  travels;  he  wanders, 
and  wanders,  and  is  not  weary  ;  his  strength  and  his  speed 
go  on  increasing  ;  no  power  can  restrain  him  ;  but  he  runs 
frantic  into  the  Mountain,  from  which  he  can  never  more 
return.  This  power  has,  in  our  day,  been  restored  to  Hell  ; 
and   in  this   inverse  direction,   the  illstarred,   perverted  pil- 

vol.  i.  27 


314  TIECK. 

grims  are  travelling  to  a  Shrine  where  no  deliverance  awaits 
them,  or  can  reach  them  any  more.  For  a  long  while,  my 
two  sons  had  given  me  no  contentment ;  they  were  dissolute 
and  immoral ;  they  despised  their  parents,  as  they  did  re- 
ligion ;  but  now  the  Sound  has  caught  and  carried  them  off, 
they  are  gone  into  unseen  kingdoms ;  the  world  was  too 
narrow  for  them,  they  are  seeking  room  in  Hell." 

"  And  what  do  you  intend  to  do  in  such  a  mystery  ?  " 
said  Eckart. 

"  With  this  crutch  I  set  out,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  to 
wander  through  the  world,  to  find  them  again,  or  die  of 
weariness  and  woe." 

So  saying,  he  tore  himself  from  his  rest  with  a  strong 
effort ;  and  hastened  forth  with  his  utmost  speed,  as  if  he 
had  found  himself  neglecting  his  most  precious  earthly 
hope  ;  and  Eckart  looked  with  compassion  on  his  vain  toil, 
and  rated  him  in  his  thoughts  as  mad. 

It  had  been  night,  and  was  now  day,  and  Conrad  came 
not  back.  Eckart  wandered  to  and  fro  among  the  rocks, 
and  turned  his  longing  eyes  on  the  Castle  ;  still  he  did  not 
see  him.  A  crowd  came  issuing  through  the  gate  ;  and 
Eckart  no  longer  heeded  to  conceal  himself;  but  mounted 
his  horse,  which  was  grazing  in  freedom ;  and  rode  into  the 
middle  of  the  troop,  who  were  now  proceeding  merrily  and 
carelessly  across  the  plain.  On  his  reaching  them,  they 
recognized  him  ;  but  no  one  laid  a  hand  on  him,  or  said 
a  hard  word  to  him ;  they  stood  mute  for  reverence,  sur- 
rounded him  in  admiration,  and  then  went  their  way.  One 
of  the  squires  he  called  back,  and  asked  him  :  "  Where  is 
my  Conrad  ?  " 

"  O !  ask  me  not,"  replied  the  squire  ;  "  it  would  but 
cause  you  sorrow  and  lamenting." 

"  And  Dietrich  !  "  cried  the  father. 

"  Name  not  their  names  any  more,"  said  the  aged  squire, 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  315 

u  for  they  are  gone  ;  the  wrath  of  our  master  was  kindled 
against  them,  and  he  meant  to  punish  you  in  them." 

A  hot  rage  mounted  up  in  Eckart's  soul ;  and,  for  sorrow 
and  fury,  he  was  no  longer  master  of  himself.  He  dashed 
the  spurs  into  his  horse,  and  rode  through  the  Castle-gate. 
All  drew  back,  with  timid  reverence,  from  his  way;  and 
thus  he  rode  on  to  the  front  of  the  Palace.  He  sprang  from 
horseback,  and  mounted  the  great  steps  with  wavering 
pace.  "Am  I  here  in  the  dwelling  of  the  man,"  said  he, 
within  himself,  "who  was  once  my  friend  ?  "  He  endeav- 
ored to  collect  his  thoughts  ;  but  wilder  and  wilder  images 
kept  moving  in  his  eye,  and  thus  he  stept  into  the  Prince's 
chamber. 

Burgundy's  presence  of  mind  forsook  him,  and  he  trem- 
bled as  Eckart  stood  in  his  presence.  "Art  thou  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy  ?  "  said  Eckart  to  him.  To  which  the  Duke 
answered,  "  Yes." 

"And  thou  hast  killed  my  son  Dietrich?"  —  The  Duke 
said,  "  Yes." 

"And  my  little  Conrad  too,"  cried  Eckart,  in  his  grief, 
"  was  not  too  good  for  thee,  and  thou  hast  killed  him  also  ?  " 
To  which  the  Duke  again  answered,  "Yes." 

Here  Eckart  was  unmanned,  and  said,  in  tears:  "O! 
answer  me  not  so,  Burgundy,  for  I  cannot  bear  these 
speeches.  Tell  me  but  that  thou  art  sorry,  that  thou 
wishest  it  were  yet  undone,  and  I  will  try  to  comfort  my- 
self; but  thus,  thou  art  utterly  offensive  to  my  heart." 

The  Duke  said  :  "  Depart  from  my  sight,  false  traitor ; 
for  thou  art  the  worst  enemy  I  have  on  Earth." 

Eckart  said  :  "  Thou  hast  of  old  called  me  thy  friend  ; 
but  these  thoughts  are  now  far  from  thee.  Never  did  I  act 
against  thee  ;  still  have  I  honored  and  loved  thee  as  my 
prince  ;  and  God  forbid  that  I  should  now,  as  I  well  might, 
lay  my  hand  upon  my  sword,  and  seek  revenge  of  thee.  No 
I  will  depart  from  thy  sight,  and  die  in  solitude." 


316 


TIECK. 


So  saying,  he  went  out ;  and  Burgundy  was  moved  in  his 
mind ;  but  at  his  call  the  guards  appeared  with  their  lances, 
who  encircled  him  on  all  sides,  and  motioned  to  drive  Eckart 
from  the  chamber  with  their  weapons. 

To  horse  the  hero  springs, 
Wild  through  the  hills  he  rideth: 
"  Of  hope  in  earthly  things, 
Now  none  with  me  abideth. 

"  My  sons  are  slain  in  youth, 

I  have  no  child  or  wife ; 
The  Prince  suspects  my  truth, 
Has  sworn  to  take  my  life." 

Then  to  the  wood  he  turns  him, 

There  gallops  on  and  on  ; 
The  smart  of  sorrow  burns  him, 

He  cries :  "  They  're  gone,  they  're  gone! 

"  All  living  men  from  me  are  fled, 
New  friends  I  must  provide  me, 
To  the  oaks  and  firs  beside  me, 
Complain  in  desert  dead. 

"  There  is  no  child  to  cheer  me, 
By  cruel  wolves  they  're  slain ; 
Once  three  of  them  were  near  me 
I  see  them  not  again," 

As  Eckart  cried  thus  sadly, 

His  sense  it  pass'd  away ; 
He  rides  in  fury  madly 

Till  dawning  of  the  day. 

His  horse  in  frantic  speed, 

Sinks  down  at  last  exhausted ; 
And  nought  does  Eckart  heed, 

Or  think  or  know  what  caused  it ; 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  317 

But  on  the  cold  ground  lie, 

Not  fearing,  loving  longer ; 

Despair  grows  strong  and  stronger, 
He  wishes  but  to  die. 

No  one  about  the  Castle  knew  whither  Eckart  had  gone  ; 
for  he  had  lost  himself  in  the  waste  forests,  and  let  no  man 
see  him.  The  Duke  dreaded  his  intentions ;  and  he  now 
repented  that  he  had  let  him  go,  and  not  laid  hold  of  him. 
So,  one  morning,  he  set  forth  with  a  great  train  of  hunters 
and  attendants,  to  search  the  woods,  and  find  out  Eckart  ; 
for  he  thought,  that  till,  Eckart  were  destroyed,  there  could 
be  no  security.  All  were  unwearied,  and  regardless  of 
toil  ;  but  the  sun  set  without  their  having  found  a  trace  of 
Eckart. 

A  storm  came  on,  and  great  clouds  flew  blustering  over 
the  forest;  the  thunder  rolled,  and  lightning  struck  the  tall 
oaks  ;  all  present  were  seized  with  an  unquiet  terror,  and 
they  gradually  dispersed  among  the  bushes,  or  the  open 
spaces  of  the  wood.  The  Duke's  horse  plunged  into  the 
thicket  ;  his  squires  could  not  follow  him  ;  the  gallant  horse 
rushed  to  the  ground,  and  Burgundy  in  vain  called  through 
the  tempest  to  his  servants  ;  for  there  was  no  one  that  could 
hear  him. 

Like  a  wild  man,  had  Eckart  roamed  about  the  woods, 
unconscious  of  himself  or  his  misfortunes  ;  he  had  lost  all 
thought,  and,  in  blank  stupefaction,  satisfied  his  hunger  with 
roots  and  herbs  ;  the  hero  could  not  now  be  -recognized 
by  any  one,  so  sore  had  the  days  of  his  despair  defaced 
him.  As  the  storm  came  on,  he  awoke  from  his  stupefac- 
tion, and  again  felt  his  existence  and  his  woes,  and  saw  the 
misery  that  had  befallen  him.  He  raised  a  loud  cry  of 
lamentation  for  his  children  ;  he  tore  his  white  hair ;  and 
called  out,  in  the  bellowing  of  the  storm  :  "  Whither,  whith- 
er are  ye  gone,  ye  parts  of  my  heart  ?  And  how  is  all 
27* 


318 


T1ECK. 


strength  departed  from  me,  that  I  could  not  even  avenge  your 
death  ?  Why  did  I  hold  back  my  arm,  and  did  not  send 
to  death  him  who  had  given  my  heart  these  deadly  stabs  ? 
Ha,  fool,  thou  deservest  that  the  tyrant  should  mock  thee, 
since  thy  powerless  arm  and  thy  silly  heart  withstood  not 
the  murderer.  Now,  O  now  were  he  with  me !  But  it  is 
in  vain  to  wish  for  vengeance,  when  the  moment  is  gone  by." 
Thus  came  on  the  night,  and  Eckart  wandered  to  and 
fro  in  his  sorrow.  From  a  distance  he  heard  as  it  were  a 
voice  calling  for  help.  Directing  his  steps  by  the  sound, 
he  came  up  to  a  man  in  the  darkness,  who  was  leaning  on 
the  stem  of  a  tree,  and  mournfully  entreating  to  be  guided 
to  his  road.  Eckart  started  at  the  voice,  for  it  seemed  familiar 
to  him  ;  but  he  soon  recovered,  and  perceived  that  the  lost 
wayfarer  was  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  Then  he  raised  his 
hand  to  his  sword,  to  cut  down  the  man  who  had  been  the 
murderer  of  his  children ;  his  fury  came  on  him  with  new 
force,  and  he  was  on  the  point  of  finishing  his  bloody  task, 
when  all  at  once  he  stopped,  for  his  oath  and  the  word  he 
had  pledged  came  into  his  mind.  He  took  his  enemy's 
hand,  and  led  him  to  the  quarter  where  he  thought  the  road 
must  be. 

The  Duke  foredone  and  weary 

Sank  in  the  wilder'd  brakes  ; 
Him  in  the  tempest  dreary 

He  on  his  shoulder  takes. 

Said  Burgundy :  "  I  'm  giving 

Much  toil  to  thee,  I  fear." 
Eckart  replied :  "  The  living 

On  Earth  have  much  to  bear." 

"  Yet,"  said  the  Duke,  "  believe  me, 
Were  we  out  of  the  wood, 
Since  now  thou  dost  relieve  me, 
Thy  sorrows  I  '11  make  good." 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  319 

The  hero  at  this  promise 

Felt  on  his  cheek  the  tear ; 
Said  he  :  "  Indeed  I  nowise 

Do  look  for  payment  here." 

"Harder  our  plight  is  growing," 

The  Duke  cries,  dreading  scath, 
"  Now  whither  are  we  going  ? 

Who  art  thou  ?  Art  thou  Death  ?  " 

"  Not  Death,"  said  he,  still  weeping, 
"  Or  any  fiend  am  I ; 
Thy  life  is  in  God's  keeping, 
Thy  ways  are  in  his  eye." 

"  Ah,"  said  the  Duke,  repenting, 
"  My  breast  is  foul  within ; 
I  tremble,  while  lamenting, 
Lest  God  requite  my  sin. 

"  My  truest  friend  I  've  banish'd, 
His  children  have  I  slain, 
In  wrath  from  me  he  vanish'd, 
As  foe  he  comes  again. 

"  To  me  he  was  devoted, 

Through  good  report  and  bad ; 
My  rights  he  still  promoted, 
The  truest  man  I  had. 

*  Me  he  can  never  pardon, 
I  kill'd  his  children  dear  ; 
This  night,  to  pay  my  guerdon, 
I'  th'  wood  he  lurks,  I  fear. 

"  This  does  my  conscience  teach  me, 
A  threat'ning  voice  within  ; 
If  here  to-night  he  reach  me, 
I  die  a  child  of  sin." 


320 


TIECK. 


Said  Eckart :  "  The  beginning 

Of  our  woes  is  guilt ; 
My  grief  is  for  thy  sinning, 

And  for  the  blood  thou  'st  spilt. 

"  And  that  the  man  will  meet  thee 
Is  likewise  surely  true; 
Yet  fear  not,  I  entreat  thee, 
He  '11  harm  no  hair  of  you." 

Thus  were  they  going  forward  talking,  when  another  per- 
son in  the  forest  met  them  ;  it  was  Wolfram,  the  Duke's 
Squire,  who  had  long  been  looking  for  his  master.  The 
dark  night  was  still  lying  over  them,  and  no  star  twinkled 
from  between  the  wet,  black  clouds.  The  Duke  felt  weaker, 
and  longed  to  reach  some  lodging,  where  he  might  sleep  till 
day  ;  besides,  he  was  afraid  that  he  might  meet  with  Eckart, 
who  stood  like  a  spectre  before  his  soul.  He  imagined  he 
should  never  see  the  morning  ;  and  shuddered  anew  when 
the  wind  again  rustled  through  the  high  trees,  and  the  storm 
came  down  from  the  hollows  of  the  mountains,  and  went 
rushing  over  his  head.  "  Wolfram,"  cried  the  Duke,  in  his 
anguish,  "  climb  one  of  these  tall  pines,  and  look  about  if 
thou  canst  spy  no  light,  no  house,  or  cottage,  whither  we 
may  turn." 

The  Squire,  at  the  hazard  of  his  life,  clomb  up  a  lofty 
pine,  which  the  storm  was  waving  from  the  one  side  to  the 
other,  and  ever  and  anon  bending  down  the  top  of  it  to  the 
very  ground  ;  so  that  the  squire  wavered  to  and  fro  upon  it 
like  a  little  squirrel.  At  last  he  reached  the  top,  and  cried  : 
"  Down  there,  in  the  valley,  I  see  the  glimmer  of  a  candle  ; 
thither  must  we  turn."  So  he  descended  and  showed  the 
way;  and  in  a  while,  they  all  perceived  the  cheerful  light ; 
at  which  the  Duke  once  more  took  heart.  Eckart  still  con- 
tinued mute,  and  occupied  within   himself;    he   spoke  no 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  321 

word,  and  looked  at  his  inward  thoughts.  On  arriving  at 
the  hut,  they  knocked  ;  and  a  little  old  housewife  let  them 
in.  As  they  entered,  the  stout  Eckart  set  the  Duke  down 
from  his  shoulders,  who  threw  himself  immediately  upon 
his  knees,  and  in  a  fervent  prayer  thanked  God  for  his  de- 
liverance. Eckart  took  his  seat  in  a  dark  corner ;  and 
there  he  found  fast  asleep  the  poor  old  man  who  had  lately 
told  him  of  his  great  misery  about  his  sons,  and  the  search 
he  was  making  for  them. 

When  the  Duke  had  done  praying,  he  said  :  "  Very 
strange  have  my  thoughts  been  this  night,  and  the  goodness 
of  God  and  his  almighty  power  never  showed  themselves  so 
openly  before  to  my  obdurate  heart;  my  mind  also  tells  me 
that  I  have  not  long  to  live  ;  and  I  desire  nothing  save  that 
God  would  pardon  me  my  manifold  and  heavy  sins.  You 
two,  also,  who  have  led  me  hither,  I  could  wish  to  recom- 
pense, so  far  as  in  my  power,  before  my  end  arrive.  To 
thee,  Wolfram,  I  give  both  the  castles  that  are  on  these  hills 
beside  us ;  and  in  future,  in  remembrance  of  this  awful 
night,  thou  shalt  call  them  the  Tannenhauser,  or  Pine-houses. 
But  who  art  thou,  strange  man,"  continued  he,  u  that  hast 
placed  thyself  there  in  the  nook,  apart  ?  Come  forth,  that 
I  may  also  pay  thee  for  thy  toil." 

Then  rose  the  hero  from  his  place, 
And  stept  into  the  light  before  them  ; 
Deep  lines  of  woe  were  on  his  face, 
But  with  a  patient  mind  he  bore  them. 

And  Burgundy  his  heart  forsook  him, 
To  see  that  mild  old  grey-hair'd  man ; 
His  face  grew  pale,  a  trembling  took  him, 
He  swoon'd  and  sank  to  earth  again. 

"  O,  saints  of  heaven,"  he  wakes  and  cries, 
"Is  't  thou  that  art  before  ray  eyes  ? 


322 


TIECK. 


How  shall  I  fly  ?     Where  shall  I  hide  me  ? 
Was 't  thou  that  in  the  wood  didst  guide  me  ? 
I  killed  thy  children  young  and  fair, 
Me  in  thy  arms  how  couldst  thou  bear  ?  " 

Thus  Burgundy  goes  on  to  wail, 
And  feels  the  heart  within  him  fail ; 
Death  is  at  hand,  remorse  pursues  him, 
With  streaming  eyes  he  sinks  on  Eckart's  bosom, 
And  Eckart  whispers  to  him  Ioav  : 
"  Henceforth  I  have  forgot  the  slight, 
So  thou  and  all  the  world  may  know, 
Eckart  was  still  thy  trusty  knight." 

Thus  passed  the  hours  till  morning,  when  some  other 
servants  of  the  Duke  arrived,  and  found  their  dying  master. 
They  laid  him  on  a  mule  and  took  him  back   to  his  Castle. 

Eckart  he  could  not  suffer  from  his  side  ;  he  would  often 
take  his  hand  and  press  it  to  his  breast,  and  look  at  him  with 
an  imploring  look.  Then  Eckart  would  embrace  him,  and 
speak  a  few  kind  words  to  him,  and  so  the  Prince  would  feel 
composed.  At  last  he  summoned  all  his  Council,  and  de- 
clared to  them  that  he  appointed  Eckart,  the  trusty  man,  to 
be  guardian  of  his  sons,  seeing  he  had  proved  himself  the 
noblest  of  all.     And  thus  he  died. 

Thenceforward  Eckart  took  on  him  the  government  with 
all  zeal ;  and  every  person  in  the  land  admired  his  high, 
manly  spirit.  Not  long  afterwards  a  rumor  spread  abroad 
in  all  quarters,  of  a  strange  Musician,  who  had  come  from 
Venus's  Hill,  who  was  travelling  through  the  whole  land,  and 
seducing  men  with  his  playing,  so  that  they  disappeared, 
and  no  one  could  find  any  traces  of  them.  Many  credited 
the  story,  others  not ;  Eckart  recollected  the  unhappy  old 
man. 

"  I  have  taken  you  for  my  sons,"  said  he  to  the  young 
Princes,  as  he  once  stood  with  them  on   the  hill  before  the 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  323 

Castle ;  your  happiness  must  now  be  my  posterity  ;  when 
dead,  I  shall  still  live  in  your  joy."  They  lay  down  on  the 
slope,  from  which  the  fair  country  was  visible  for  many  a 
league  ;  and  here  Eckart  had  to  guard  himself  from  speak- 
ing of  his  children ;  for  they  seemed  as  if  coming  towards 
him  from  the  distant  mountains,  while  he  heard  afar  off  a 
lovely  sound. 

"  Comes  it  not  like  dreams 
Stealing  o'er  the  vales  and  streams? 
Out  of  regions  far  from  this, 
Like  the  song  of  souls  in  bliss  ?  " 

This  to  the  youths  did  Eckart  say, 

And  caught  the  sound  from  far  away ; 

And  as  the  magic  tones  came  nigher, 

A  wicked,  strange  desire 

Awakens  in  the  breasts  of  these  pure  boys, 

That  drives  them  forth  to  seek  for  unknown  joys. 

"  Come,  let 's  to  the  fields,  to  the  meadows  and  mountains, 
The  forests  invite  us,  the  streams  and  the  fountains ; 
Soft  voices  in  secret  for  loitering  chide  us, 
Away  to  the  Garden  of  Pleasure  they  '11  guide  us." 

The  Player  comes  in  foreign  guise, 

Appears  before  their  wondering  eyes  ; 

And  higher  swells  the  music's  sound, 

And  brighter  glows  the  emerald  ground  ; 

The  flowers  appear  as  drunk, 

Twilight  red  has  on  them  sunk ; 

And  through  the  green  grass  play  with  airy  lightness, 

Soft,  fitful,  blue  and  golden  streaks  of  brightness. 

Like  a  shadow,  melts  and  flits  away 

All  that  bound  men  to  this  world  of  clay ; 

In  Earth  all  toil  and  tumult  cease, 

Like  one  bright  flower  it  blooms  in  peace ; 

The  mountains  rock  in  purple  light, 

The  valleys  shout  as  with  delight ; 


324 


TIECK. 

All  rush  and  whirl  in  the  music's  noise, 
And  long  to  share  of  these  offered  joys ; 
The  soul  of  man  is  allured  to  gladness, 
And  lies  entranced  in  that  blissful  madness. 

The  trusty  Eckart  felt  it, 
But  wist  not  of  the  cause  ; 

His  heart  the  music  melted, 
He  wondered  what  it  was. 

The  world  seems  new  and  fairer, 
All  blooming  like  the  rose  ; 

Can  Eckart  be  a  sharer 
In  raptures  such  as  those  ? 

"  Ha  !  Are  those  tones  restoring 
My  wife  and  bonny  sons  ? 
All  that  I  was  deploring, 
My  lost  beloved  ones  ?  " 

Yet  soon  his  sense  collected 

Brought  doubt  within  his  breast ; 

These  hellish  arts  detected, 
A  horror  him  possess'd. 

And  now  he  sees  the  raging 
Of  his  young  princes  dear ; 

Themselves  to  Hell  engaging, 
His  voice  no  more  they  hear. 

And  forth,  in  wild  commotion, 
They  rush,  not  knowing  where  ; 

In  tumult  like  the  ocean, 
When  mad  his  billows  are. 

Then,  as  these  things  assail'd  him, 
He  wist  not  what  to  do ; 

His  knighthood  almost  fail'd  him 
Amid  that  hellish  crew. 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  325 

Then  to  his  soul  appeareth 

The  hour  the  Duke  did  die; 
His  friend's  faint  prayer  he  heareth, 

He  sees  his  fading  eye. 

And  so  his  mind  's  in  armor, 
And  hope  is  conquering  fear  ; 

When  see,  the  fiendish  Charmer 
Himself  comes  piping  near! 

His  sword  to  draw  he  essayeth, 

And  smite  the  caitiff  dead  ; 
But  as  the  music  playeth, 

His  strength  is  from  him  fled. 

And  from  the  mountains  issue 

Crowds  of  distorted  forms, 
Of  Dwarfs  a  boundless  tissue 

Come  simmering  round  in  swarms. 

The  youths,  possess'd,  are  running 

As  frantic  in  the  crowd  ; 
In  vain  is  force  or  cunning  ; 

In  vain  to  call  aloud. 

And  hurries  on  by  castle, 

By  tower  and  town,  the  rout ; 

Like  imps  in  hellish  wassail, 

With  crackling  laugh  and  shout. 

He  too  is  in  the  rabble  ; 

May  not  resist  their  force, 
Must  hear  their  deafening  babble, 

Attend  their  frantic  course. 

But  now  the  Hill  appeareth, 

And  music  comes  thereout ; 
And  as  the  Phantoms  hear  it, 
They  halt,  and  raise  a  shout. 
vol.  I.  28 


326 


TIECK. 

The  Mountain  starts  asunder, 

A  motley  crowd  is  seen ; 
This  way  and  that  they  wander, 

In  red,  unearthly  sheen. 

Then  his  broad  sword  he  drew  it, 
And  says :  "  Still  true,  though  lost ! " 

And  with  mad  force  he  heweth 
Through  that  Infernal  host. 

His  youths  he  sees  (how  gladly ! ) 
Escaping  through  the  vale  ; 

The  Fiends  are  fighting  madly, 
And  threatening  to  prevail. 

The  Dwarfs,  when  hurt,  fly  downward, 

And  rise  up  cured  again  ; 
And  other  crowds  rush  onward, 

And  fight  with  might  and  main. 

Then  saw  he  from  a  distance 
The  children  safe,  and  cried: 
"  They  need  not  my  assistance, 
I  care  not  what  betide." 

His  good  broad  sword  doth  glitter 
And  flash  i'  th'  noontide  ray  ; 

The  Dwarfs,  with  wailing  bitter, 
And  howls,  depart  away. 

Safe  at  the  valley's  ending, 
The  youths  far  off  he  spies  ; 

Then  faint  and  wounded,  bending, 
The  hero  falls  and  dies. 

So  his  last  hour  o'ertook  him, 

Fighting  like  lion  brave  ; 
His  truth,  it  ne'er  forsook  him, 

He  was  faithful  to  the  srrave. 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  327 

Now  Eckart  having-  perish'd, 

The  eldest  son  bore  sway  ; 
His  memory  still  he  cherish'd, 

With  grateful  heart  would  say : 

From  foes  and  wreck  to  save  me, 

Like  lion  grim  he  fought, 
My  throne,  my  life,  he  gave  me, 

And  with  his  heart's  blood  bought." 

And  soon  a  wondrous  rumor 

The  country  round  did  fill, 
That  when  a  desp'rate  humor 

Doth  send  one  to  the  Hill, 

There  straight  a  Shape  will  meet  him, 

The  Trusty  Eckart's  ghost, 
And  wistfully  entreat  him 

To  turn,  and  not  be  lost. 

There  he,  though  dead,  yet  ever 

True  watch  and  ward  doth  hold ; 
Upon  the  Earth  shall  never 

Be  man  so  true  and  bold. 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART. 


PART    SECOND. 

More  than  four  centuries  had  elapsed  since  the  trusty 
Eckart's  death,  when  a  noble  Tannenhauser,  in  the  station 
of  Imperial  Counsellor,  was  living  at  Court  in  the  highest 
estimation.  The  son  of  this  knight  surpassed  in  beauty  all 
the  other  nobles  of  the  land,  and  on  this  account  was  loved 
and  prized  by  every  one.  Suddenly,  however,  after  some 
mysterious  incidents  had  been  observed  to  happen  to  him,  the 
young  man  disappeared  ;  and  no  one  knew  or  guessed  what 
was  become  of  him.  Since  the  times  of  the  Trusty 
Eckart,  there  had  always  been  a  story  current  in  the  land 
about  the  Venus-Hill  ;  and  many  said  that  he  had  wandered 
thither,  and  was  lost  forever. 

One  of  those  that  most  lamented  him  was  his  young  friend 
Friedrich  von  Wolfsburg.  They  had  grown  up  together, 
and  their  mutual  attachment  seemed  to  each  of  them  to 
have  become  a  necessary  of  life.  Tannenhauser's  old  father 
died  ;  Friedrich  married  some  years  afterwards  ;  already 
was  a  ring  of  merry  children  round  him,  and  still  he  heard 
no  tidings  of  his  youthful  friend;  so  that,  in  the  end,  he 
was  forced  to  conclude  him  dead. 

He  was  standing  one  evening  under  the  gate  of  his  Castle, 
when  he  perceived  afar  off  a  pilgrim  travelling  towards  the 
mansion.  The  wayfaring  man  was  clad  in  a  strange  garb  ; 
and  his  gait  and  gestures  the  Knight  thought  extremely 
singular.  On  his  approaching  nearer,  Wolfsburg  thought 
that  he  knew  him  :  and   at  last   he   became  convinced  that 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  329 

the  stranger  was  no  other  than  his  long-lost  friend  the  Tan- 
nenhauser. He  felt  amazed,  and  a  secret  horror  took  pos- 
session of  him,  as  he  recognized  distinctly  these  much- 
altered  features. 

The  two  friends  embraced  ;  then  started  back  next  mo- 
ment ;  and  gazed  astonished  at  each  other  as  at  unknown 
beings.  Of  questions,  of  perplexed  replies,  were  many. 
Friedrich  often  shuddered  at  the  wild  look  of  his  friend, 
which  seemed  to  burn  as  with  unearthly  light.  The  Tan- 
nenhauser had  reposed  himself  a  day  or  two,  when  Friedrich 
learned  that  he  was  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome. 

The  two  friends  by  and  by  renewed  their  former  inti- 
macy ;  took  up  their  old  topics,  and  told  stories  to  each 
other  of  their  youth  ;  but  the  Tannenhauser  always  carefully 
concealed  where  he  had  been  since  then.  Friedrich,  how- 
ever, pressed  him  to  disclose  it,  now  that  they  Were  once 
more  on  their  ancient  confidential  footing  ;  the  other  long 
endeavored  to  ward  off  the  friendly  prayer;  but  at  last  he 
exclaimed  :  "  Well,  be  it  so ;  thy  will  be  done  !  Thou 
shalt  know  all  ;  but  cast  no  reproaches  on  me  after,  should 
the  story  fill  thee  with  inquietude  and  horror." 

They  went  into  the  open  air,  and  walked  a  little  in  a  green 
wood  of  the  pleasure-grounds,  where  at  last  they  sat  down  ; 
and  now  the  Tannenhauser  hid  his  face  among  the  grass, 
and,  with  loud  sobs,  held  back  his  right  hand  to  his  friend, 
who  pressed  it  tenderly  in  his.  The  woe-worn  pilgrim  rais- 
ed himself,  and  began  his  story  in  the  following  words. 

"  Believe  me,  Wolfsburg,  many  a  man  has,  at  his  birth, 
an  Evil  Spirit  linked  to  him,  that  vexes  him  through  life,  and 
never  lets  him  rest,  till  he  has  reached  his  black  destination. 
So  has  it  been  with  me ;  my  whole  existence  has  been 
but  a  continuing  birth-pain,  and  my  awakening  will  be  in 
Hell.  For  this  have  I  already  wandered  so  many  weary 
steps,  and  have  so  many  yet  before  me  on  the  pilgrimage 
28* 


330  TIECK. 

which  I  am  making  to  the  Holy  Father,  that  I  may  endeav- 
or to  obtain  forgiveness  at  Rome.  In  his  presence  will  I 
lay  down  the  heavy  burden  of  my  sins  ;  or  fall  beneath  it, 
and  die  despairing." 

Friedrich  attempted  to  console  him,  but  the  Tannenhauser 
seemed  to  pay  little  heed  to  what  he  said  ;  and,  after  a  short 
while,  he  proceeded  in  the  following  words  :  "  There  is  an  old 
legend  of  a  Knight  who  is  said  to  have  lived  many  centuries 
ago,  under  the  name  of  the  Trusty  Eckart.  They  tell  how, 
in  those  days,  a  Musician  issued  from  some  marvellous  Hill ; 
and,  by  his  magic  tones,  awoke  in  the  hearts  of  all  that 
heard  him  so  deep  a  longing,  such  wild  wishes,  that  he  led 
them  irresistibly  along  with  his  music,  and  forced  them  to 
rush  in  with  him  to  the  Hill.  Hell  had  then  opened  wide 
her  gates  to  poor  mortals,  and  enticed  them  in  with  seduc- 
tive music.  In  boyhood  I  often  heard  this  story,  and  at  first 
without  particularly  minding  it ;  yet  ere  long  it  so  took  hold 
of  me,  that  all  Nature,  every  sound,  every  flower,  recalled 
to  me  the  story  of  these  heart-subduing  tones.  I  cannot 
tell  thee  what  a  sadness,  what  an  unutterable  longing  used 
to  seize  me,  when  I  looked  on  the  driving  of  the  clouds,  and 
saw  the  light,  lordly  blue  peering  out  between  them  ;  or  what 
remembrances  the  meadows  and  the  woods  would  awaken 
in  my  deepest  heart.  Oftentimes  the  loveliness  and  fulness 
of  royal  Nature  so  affected  me,  that  I  stretched  out  my  arms, 
as  if  to  fly  away  with  wings  ;  that  I  might  pour  myself  out 
like  the  spirit  of  Nature  over  mountain  and  valley  ;  that  I 
might  brood  over  grass  and  forest,  and  inhale  the  riches  of 
her  blessedness.  And  if  by  day  the  free  landscape  charmed 
me,  by  night  dark,  dreaming  fantasies  tormented  me  ;  and 
set  themselves  in  lowering  grimness  before  me,  as  if  to  shut 
up  my  path  of  life  forever.  Above  all,  there  was  one  dream 
that  left  an  ineffaceable  impression  on  my  feelings,  though 
I  never  could  distinctly  call   the   forms  of  it  to   memory. 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  331 

Methought  there  was  a  vast  tumult  in  the  streets ;  I  heard 
confused,  unintelligible  speaking  ;  it  was  dark  night ;  I  went 
to  my  parents'  house ;  none  but  my  father  was  there,  and 
he  sick.  Next  morning  I  clasped  my  parents  in  my  arms, 
and  pressed  them  with  melting  tenderness  to  my  breast,  as 
if  some  hostile  power  had  been  about  to  tear  them  from  me. 
1  Am  I  to  lose  thee  ?  '  said  I  to  my  father.  '  Oh  !  how 
wretched  and  lonely  were  I  without  thee  in  this  world  ! ' 
They  tried  to  comfort  me,  but  could  not  wipe  away  the  dim 
image  from  my  remembrance. 

"  I  grew  older,  still  keeping  myself  apart  from  other  boys 
of  my  age.  I  often  roamed  solitary  through  the  fields  ;  and 
it  happened  one  morning,  in  my  rambles,  that  I  had  lost  my 
way  ;  and  so  was  wandering  to  and  fro  in  a  thick  wood,  not 
knowing  whither  to  turn.  After  long  seeking  vainly  for  a 
road,  I  at  last  on  a  sudden  came  upon  an  iron-grated  fence, 
within  which  lay  a  garden.  Through  the  bars,  I  saw  fair 
shady  walks  before  me  ;  fruit-trees  and  flowers ;  and  close 
by  me  were  rose-bushes  glittering  in  the  sun.  A  nameless 
longing  for  these  roses  seized  me;  I  could  not  help  rushing 
on  ;  I  pressed  myself  by  force  through  between  the  bars, 
and  was  now  standing  in  the  garden.  Immediately  I  sank 
on  my  knees;  clasped  the  bushes  in  my  arms;  kissed  the 
roses  on  their  red  lips,  and  melted  into  tears.  I  had  knelt 
a  while,  absorded  in  a  sort  of  rapture,  when  there  came  two 
maidens  through  the  alleys ;  the  one  of  my  own  years,  the 
other  elder.  I  awoke  from  my  trance,  to  fall  into  a  higher 
ecstasy.  My  eye  lighted  on  the  younger,  and  I  felt  at  this 
moment  as  if  all  my  unknown  woe  was  healed.  They  took 
me  to  the  house  ;  their  parents,  having  learned  my  name, 
sent  notice  to  my  father,  who,  in  the  evening,  came  himself, 
and  brought  me  back. 

"  From  this  day,  the  uncertain  current  of  my  life  had 
got  a  fixed  direction  ;  my  thoughts  forever  hastened  back  to 


332  TIECK. 

the  castle  and  the  maiden  ;  for  here,  it  seemed  to  me,  was 
the  home  of  all  my  wishes.  I  forgot  my  customary  plea- 
sures, I  forsook  my  playmates,  and  often  visited  the  garden, 
the  castle,  and  Emma.  Here  I  had,  in  a  little  time,  grown, 
as  it  were,  an  inmate  of  the  house,  so  that  they  no  longer 
thought  it  strange  to  see  me  ;  and  Emma  was  becoming 
dearer  to  me  every  day.  Thus  passed  my  hours  ;  and  a 
tenderness  had  taken  my  heart  captive,  though  I  myself  was 
not  aware  of  it.  My  whole  destination  seemed  to  me 
fulfilled  ;  I  had  no  wish  but  still  to  come  again ;  and  when  I 
went  away,  to  have  the  same  prospect  for  the  morrow. 

"  Matters  were  in  this  state,  when  a  young  knight  became 
acquainted  in  the  family;  he  was  a  friend  of  my  parents; 
and  he  soon,  like  me,  attached  himself  to  Emma.  I  hated 
him,  from  that  moment,  as  my  deadly  enemy  ;  but  nothing 
can  describe  my  feelings,  when  I  fancied  I  perceived  that 
Emma  liked  him  more  than  me.  From  this  hour,  it 
was  as  if  the  music,  which  had  hitherto  accompanied  me, 
went  silent  in  my  bosom.  I  meditated  but  on  death  and 
hatred  ;  wild  thoughts  now  awoke  in  my  breast,  when 
Emma  sang  her  well-known  songs  to  her  lute.  Nor  did 
I  hide  the  aversion  which  I  felt  ;  and  when  my  parents  tried 
to  reason  and  remonstrate  with  me,  I  grew  fierce  and  con- 
tradictory. 

"  I  now  roved  about  the  woods  and  rocky  wastes,  in- 
furiated against  myself.  The  death  of  my  rival  was  a  thing 
I  had  determined  on.  The  young  knight,  after  some  few 
months,  made  a  formal  offer  of  himself  to  the  parents  of  my 
mistress,  and  she  was  betrothed  to  him.  All  that  was  rare 
and  beautiful  in  Nature,  all  that  had  charmed  me  in  her 
magnificence,  had  been  united  in  my  soul  with  Emma's 
image;  I  fancied,  knew,  or  wished  for  no  other  happiness 
but  Emma  ;  nay,  I  had  wilfully  determined  that  the  day, 
which  brought  the  loss  of  her,  should  also  bring  my  own 
destruction. 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART. 


333 


"  My  parents  sorrowed  in  heart  at  such  perversion  ;  my 
mother  had  fallen  sick,  but  I  paid  no  heed  to  this  ;  her  situa- 
tion gave  me  little  trouble,  and  I  saw  her  seldom.  The 
wedding-day  of  my  enemy  was  coming  on  ;  and  with  its 
approach  increased  the  agony  of  mind  which  drove  me  over 
woods  and  mountains.  I  execrated  Emma  and  myself  with 
the  most  horrid  curses.  At  this  time  I  had  no  friend  ;  no 
man  would  take  any  charge  of  me,  for  all  had  given  me  up 
for  lost. 

"  The  fearful  marriage-eve  came  on.  I  had  wandered 
deep  among  the  cliffs,  I  heard  the  rushing  of  the  forest- 
streams  below ;  I  often  shuddered  at  myself.  When 
the  morning  came,  I  saw  my  enemy  proceeding  down 
the  mountains  ;  I  assailed  him  with  injurious  speeches ;  he 
replied  ;  we  drew  our  swords,  and  he  soon  fell  beneath  my 
furious  strokes. 

"  I  hastened  on,  not  looking  after  him,  but  his  attendants 
took  the  corpse  away.  At  night,  I  hovered  round  the  dwell- 
ing which  enclosed  my  Emma  ;  and  a  few  days  after- 
wards, I  heard  in  the  neighboring  cloister  the  sound  of  the 
funeral-bell,  and  the  grave-song  of  the  nuns.  I  inquired  ; 
and  was  told  that  Fraulein  Emma,  out  of  sorrow  for  her 
bridegroom's  death,  was  dead. 

"  I  could  stay  no  longer  ;  I  doubted  whether  I  was  living, 
whether  it  was  all  truth  or  not.  I  hastened  back  to  my  par- 
ents ;  and  came  next  night,  at  a  late  hour,  to  the  town  where 
they  lived.  Here  all  was  in  confusion  ;  horses  and  military 
wagons  filled  the  streets,  soldiers  were  jostling  one  another 
this  way  and  that,  and  speaking  in  disordered  haste  ;  the 
Emperor  was  on  the  point  of  undertaking  a  campaign 
against  his  enemies.  A  solitary  light  was  burning  in  my 
father's  house  when  I  entered  :  a  strangling  oppression  lay 
upon  my  breast.  As  I  knocked,  my  father  himself,  with 
slow,  thoughtful  steps,  advanced  to  meet  me  ;  and  immedi- 


334 


TIECK. 


ately  I  recollected  the  old  dream  of  my  childhood  ;  and  felt, 
with  cutting  emotion,  that  now  it  was  receiving  its  fulfil- 
ment. In  perplexity,  I  asked:  "  Why  are  you  up  so  late, 
Father  ? '  He  led  me  in,  and  said  :  '  I  may  well  be  up,  for 
thy  mother  is  even  now  dead.' 

"  His  words  struck  through  my  soul  like  thunderbolts. 
He  took  a  seat  with  a  meditative  air ;  I  sat  down  beside 
him.  The  corpse  was  lying  in  a  bed,  and  strangely  wound 
in  linen.  My  heart  was  like  to  burst.  '  I  wake  here,'  said 
the  old  man, '  for  my  wife  is  still  sitting  by  me.'  My  senses 
failed;  I  fixed  my  eyes  upon  a  corner;  and,  after  a  little 
while,  there  rose,  as  it  were,  a  vapor;  it  mounted  and 
wavered  ;  and  the  well-known  figure  of  my  mother  gathered 
itself  visibly  together  from  the  midst  of  it,  and  looked  at 
me  with  an  earnest  mien.  I  wished  to  go,  but  I  could  not ; 
for  the  form  of  my  mother  beckoned  to  me,  and  my  father 
held  me  in  his  arms,  and  whispered  to  me,  in  a  low  voice  : 
'She  died  of  grief  for  thee.'  I  embraced  him  with  a  child- 
like transport  of  affection ;  I  poured  burning  tears  on  his 
breast.  He  kissed  me  ;  and  I  shuddered  ;  for  his  lips,  as 
they  touched  me,  were  cold,  like  the  lips  of  one  dead. 
*  How  art  thou,  Father  ? '  cried  I,  in  horror.  He  writhed 
painfully  together,  and  made  no  reply.  In  a  few  moments? 
I  felt  him  growing  colder ;  I  laid  my  hand  on  his  heart, 
but  it  was  still;  and  in  wailing  delirium  I  held  the  body 
fast  clasped  in  my  embrace. 

"As  it  were  a  gleam,  like  the  first  streak  of  dawn, 
went  through  the  dark  room  ;  and  behold,  the  spirit  of  my 
father  sat  beside  my  mother's  form  ;  and  both  looked  at  me 
compassionately,  as  I  held  the  dear  corpse  in  my  arms- 
After  this,  my  consciousness  was  over;  exhausted  and 
delirious,  the  servants  found  me  next  morning  in  the  cham- 
ber of  the  dead." 

So  far  the  Tannenhauser  had  proceeded  with  his  narra- 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  335 

tive  ;  Friedrich  was  listening  to  him  with  the  deepest  aston- 
ishment, when  all  on  a  sudden  he  broke  off,  and  paused 
with  an  expression  of  the  keenest  pain.  Friedrich  felt  em- 
barrassed and  immersed  in  thought  ;  they  both  returned 
in  company  to  the  Castle,  but  staid  in  the  same  room  apart 
from  others. 

The  Tannenhauser  had  kept  silence  for  a  while,  then 
he  again  began  :  "  The  remembrance  of  those  hours  still 
agitates  me  deeply  ;  I  understand  not  how  I  have  survived 
them.  The  world,  and  its  life,  now  appeared  to  me  as  if 
dead  and  utterly  desolate ;  without  thoughts  or  wishes  I 
lived  on  from  day  to  day.  I  then  became  acquainted  with 
a  set  of  wild  young  people  ;  and  endeavored,  in  the  whirl 
of  pleasure  and  intoxication,  to  lay  the  tumultuous  Evil 
Spirit  that  was  in  me.  My  ancient  burning  impatience 
again  awoke  ;  and  I  could  no  longer  understand  myself  or 
my  wishes.  A  debauchee,  named  Rudolf,  had  become  my 
confident ;  he,  however,  always  laughed  to  scorn  my  long- 
ings and  complaints.  About  a  year  had  passed  in  this  way, 
when  my  misery  of  spirit  rose  to  desperation  ;  there  was 
something  drove  me  onwards,  onwards,  into  unknown  space ; 
I  could  have  dashed  myself  down  from  the  high  mountains 
into  the  glowing  green  of  the  meadows,  into  the  cool  rushino- 
of  the  waters,  to  slake  the  burning  thirst,  to  stay  the  insatia- 
bility of  my  soul  ;  I  longed  for  annihilation  ;  and  again, 
like  golden  morning  clouds,  did  hope  and  love  of  life  arise 
before  me,  and  entice  me  on.  The  thought  then  struck 
me,  that  Hell  was  hungering  for  me,  and  was  sending  me 
my  sorrows  as  well  as  my  pleasures  to  destroy  me  ;  that 
some  malignant  Spirit  was  directing  all  the  powers  of  my 
soul  to  the  Infernal  Abode;  and  leading  me,  as  with  a 
bridle,  to  my  doom.  And  I  surrendered  to  him  ;  that  so 
these  torments,  these  alternating  raptures  and  agonies,  might 
leave  me.     In  the   darkest  night,  I  mounted  a  lofty  hill; 


336  TIECK. 

and  called  on  the  Enemy  of  God  and  man,  with  all  the 
energies  of  my  heart,  so  that  I  felt  he  would  be  forced  to 
hear  me.  My  words  brought  him ;  he  stood  suddenly  be- 
fore me,  and  I  felt  no  horror.  Then  in  talking  with  him, 
the  belief  in  that  strange  Hill  again  arose  within  me ;  and 
he  taught  me  a  Song,  which  of  itself  would  lead  me  by  the 
straight  road  thither.  He  disappeared,  and  for  the  first  time 
since  I  had  begun  to  live,  I  was  alone  with  myself;  for  I 
now  understood  my  wandering  thoughts,  which  rushed  as 
from  a  centre  to  find  out  another  world.  I  set  forth  on 
my  journey ;  and  the  Song,  which  I  sang  with  a  loud  voice, 
led  me  over  strange  deserts;  but  all  other  things  besides 
myself  I  had  forgotten.  There  was  something  carrying  me, 
as  on  the  strong  wings  of  desire,  to  my  home.  I  wished  to 
escape  the  shadow  which,  amid  the  sunshine,  threatens  us  ; 
the  wild  tones  which,  amid  the  softest  music,  chide  us.  So 
travelling  on,  I  reached  the  Mountain  one  night  when  the 
moon  was  shining  faintly  from  behind  dim  clouds.  I  pro- 
ceeded with  my  Song ;  and  a  giant  form  stood  by  me,  and 
beckoned  me  back  with  his  staff.  I  went  nearer :  1 1  am 
the  Trusty  Eckart,'  said  the  superhuman  figure  ;  '  by  God's 
goodness,  I  am  placed  here  as  watchman,  to  warn  men  back 
from  their  sinful  rashness.' —  I  pressed  through. 

"  My  path  was  now  as  in  a  subterraneous  mine.  The 
passage  was  so  narrow,  that  I  had  to  press  myself  along; 
I  caught  the  gurgling  of  hidden  waters  ;  I  heard  spirits 
forming  ore,  and  gold,  and  silver,  to  entice  the  soul  of  man  ; 
I  found  here  concealed  and  separate  the  deep  sounds  and 
tones  from  which  earthly  music  springs ;  the  farther  I  went, 
the  more  did  there  fall  as  it  were  a  veil  from  my  sight. 

"I  rested,  and  saw  other  forms  of  men  come  gliding 
towards  me ;  my  friend  Rudolf  was  among  the  number. 
I  could  not  understand  how  th  eywere  to  pass  me,  so  narrow 
was  the  way  ;  but  they  went  along,  through  the  middle  of 
the  rock,  without  perceiving  me. 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  337 

"Anon  I  heard  the  sound  of  music  ;  but  music  altogether 
different  from  any  that  had  ever  struck  my  ear  before.  My 
thoughts  within  me  strove  towards  the  notes  ;  I  came  into 
an  open  space  ;  and  strange,  radiant  colors  glittered  on  me 
from  every  side.  This  it  was  that  I  had  always  been  in 
search  of.  Close  to  my  heart  I  felt  the  presence  of  the 
long-sought,  now-discovered  glory  ;  and  its  ravishments 
thrilled  into  me  with  all  their  power.  And  then  the  whole 
crowd  of  jocund  Pagan  gods  came  forth  to  meet  me,  Lady 
Venus  at  their  head,  and  all  saluted  me.  They  have  been 
banished  thither  by  the  power  of  the  Almighty  ;  their  wor- 
ship is  abolished  from  the  earth  ;  and  now  they  work  upon 
us  from  their  concealment. 

"  All  pleasures  that  Earth  affords,  I  here  possessed  and 
partook  of  in  their  fullest  bloom;  insatiable  was  my  heart, 
and  endless  my  enjoyment.  The  famed  Beauties  of  the 
ancient  world  were  present  ;  what  my  thought  coveted  was 
mine;  one  delirium  of  rapture  was  followed  by  another; 
and  day  after  day,  the  world  appeared  to  burn  round  me 
in  more  glorious  hues.  Streams  of  the  richest  wine 
allayed  my  fierce  thirst ;  and  beauteous  forms  sported  in 
the  air,  and  soft  eyes  invited  me  ;  vapors  rose  enchanting 
around  my  head  ;  as  if  from  the  inmost  heart  of  blissful 
Nature,  came  a  music,  and  cooled  with  its  fresh  waves  the 
wild  tumult  of  desire  ;  and  a  horror,  that  glided  faint  and 
secret  over  the  rose-fields,  heightened  the  delicious  revel. 
How  many  years  passed  over  me  in  this  abode,  I  know  not  ; 
for  here  there  was  no  time,  and  no  distinctions ;  the  flowers 
here  glowed  with  the  charms  of  women  ;  and  in  the  forms 
of  the  women  bloomed  the  magic  of  flowers ;  colors  here 
had  another  language  ;  the  whole  world  of  sense  was  bound 
together  into  one  blossom,  and  the  spirits  within  it  forever 
held  their  rejoicing. 

"  Now,  how  it  happened,  I  can   neither  say  nor  compre- 

vol.  i.  29 


338 


TIECK. 


hend  ;  but  so  it  was,  that,  in  all  this  pomp  of  sin,  a  love  of 
rest,  a  longing  for  the  old  innocent  Earth,  with  her  scanty- 
joys,  took  hold  of  me  here,  as  keenly  as  of  old  the  impulse 
which  had  driven  me  hither.  I  was  again  drawn  on  to  live 
that  life  which  men,  in  their  unconsciousness,  go  on  leading; 
I  was  sated  with  this  splendor,  and  gladly  sought  my  former 
home  once  more.  An  unspeakable  grace  of  the  Almighty 
permitted  my  return  ;  I  found  myself  suddenly  again  in  the 
world  ;  and  now  it-  is  my  intention  to  pour  out  my  guilty 
breast  before  the  chair  of  our  Holy  Father  in  Rome  ;  that 
so  he  may  forgive  me,  and  I  may  again  be  reckoned  among 
men." 

The  Tannenhauser  ceased  ;  and  Friedrich  long  viewed 
him  with  an  investigating  look,  then  took  his  hand,  and  said  : 
"  I  cannot  yet  recover  from  my  wonder,  nor  can  I  under- 
stand thy  narrative  ;  for  it  is  impossible  that  all  thou  hast 
told  me  can  be  aught  but  an  imagination.  Emma  still  lives, 
she  is  my  wife  ;  thou  and  I  never  quarrelled,  or  hated  one 
another,  as  thou  thinkest;  yet  before  our  marriage,  thou 
wert  gone  on  a  sudden  from  the  neighborhood  ;  nor  didst 
thou  ever  tell  me,  by  a  single  hint,  that  Emma  was  dear  to 
thee." 

Hereupon  he  took  the  bewildered  Tannenhauser  by  the 
hand,  and  led  him  into  another  room  to  his  wife,  who  had 
just  then  returned  from  a  visit  to  her  sister,  which  had  kept 
her  for  the  last  few  days  from  home.  The  Tannenhauser 
spoke  not,  and  seemed  immersed  in  thought;  he  viewed  in 
silence  the  form  and  face  of  the  lady,  then  shook  his  head 
and  said  :  "  By  Heaven,  that  is  the  strangest  incident  of 
all  ! " 

Friedrich,  with  precision  and  connectedness,  related  all 
that  had  befallen  him  since  that  time  ;  and  tried  to  make 
his  friend  perceive  that  it  had  been  some  singular  madness 
which  had,  in  the  meanwhile,  harassed  him.     "  I  know  very 


THE    TRUSTY    ECKART.  339 

well  how  it  stands,"  exclaimed  the  Tannenhauser.  "  It  is 
now  that  I  am  crazy  ;  and  Hell  has  cast  this  juggling  show 
before  me,  that  I  may  not  go  to  Rome,  and  seek  the  pardon 
of  my  sins." 

Emma  tried  to  bring  his  childhood  to  his  recollection,  but 
the  Tannenhauser  would  not  be  persuaded.  He  speedily 
set  out  on  his  journey,  that  he  might  the  sooner  get  his 
absolution  from  the  Pope. 

Friedrich  and  Emma  often  spoke  of  the  mysterious  pil- 
grim. Some  months  had  gone  by,  when  the  Tannenhauser, 
pale  and  wasted,  in  a  tattered  pilgrim's  dress,  and  barefoot, 
one  morning  entered  Fried  rich's  chamber,  while  the  latter 
was  in  bed  asleep.  He  kissed  his  lips,  and  then  said,  in 
breathless  haste  :  "  The  Holy  Father  cannot  and  will  not 
forgive  me  ;  I  must  back  to  my  old  dwelling."  And  with 
this  he  went  hurriedly  away. 

Friedrich  roused  himself;  but  the  ill-fated  pilgrim  was 
already  gone.  He  went  to  his  lady's  room  ;  and  her  maids 
rushed  out  to  meet  him,  crying  that  the  Tannenhauser  had 
pressed  into  the  apartment  early  in  the  morning,  with  the 
words  :  "  She  shall  not  obstruct  me  in  my  course  !  "  — 
Emma  was  lying  murdered. 

Friedrich  had  not  yet  recalled  his  thoughts,  when  a  horror 
came  over  him ;  he  could  not  rest  ;  he  ran  into  the  open  air. 
They  wished  to  keep  him  back  ;  but  he  told  them  that  the 
pilgrim  had  kissed  his  lips,  and  that  the  kiss  was  burning 
him  till  he  found  the  man  again.  And  so,  with  inconceiva- 
ble rapidity,  he  ran  away  to  seek  the  Tannenhauser,  and 
the  mysterious  Hill  ;  and,  since  that  day,  he  was  never  seen 
any  more.  People  say,  that  whoever  gets  a  kiss  from  any 
emissary  of  the  Hill  is  thenceforth  unable  to  withstand  the 
lure  that  draws  him  with  magic  force  into  the  subterraneous 
chasm. 


III. 
THE    RUNENBERG. 


A  young  hunter  was  sitting  in  the  heart  of  the  Mountains, 
in  a  thoughtful  mood,  beside  his  fowling-floor,  while  the 
noise  of  the  waters  and  the  woods  was  sounding  through  the 
solitude.  He  was  musing  on  his  destiny  ;  how  he  was  so 
young,  and  had  forsaken  his  father  and  mother,  and  accus- 
tomed home,  and  all  his  comrades  in  his  native  village,  to 
seek  out  new  acquaintances,  to  escape  from  the  circle  of 
returning  habitude  ;  and  he  looked  up  with  a  sort  of  surprise 
that  he  was  here,  that  he  found  himself  in  this  valley,  in 
this  employment.  Great  clouds  were  passing  over  him, 
and  sinking  behind  the  mountains  ;  birds  were  singing  from 
the  bushes,  and  an  echo  was  replying  to  them.  He  slowty 
descended  the  hill ;  and  seated  himself  on  the  margin  of  a 
brook  that  was  gushing  down  among  the  rocks  with  foamy 
murmur.  He  listened  to  the  fitful  melody  of  the  water  ;  an4 
it  seemed  to  him  as  if  the  waves  were  saying  to  him,  in  un- 
intelligible words,  a  thousand  things  that  concerned  him 
nearly  ;  and  he  felt  an  inward  trouble  that  he  could  not 
understand  their  speeches.  Then  again  he  looked  aloft,  and 
thought  that  he  was  glad  and  happy  ;  so  he  took  new  heart, 
and  sang  aloud  this  hunting  song  : 

Blithe  and  cheery  through  the  mountains 

Goes  the  huntsman  to  the  chase, 
By  the  lonesome,  shady  fountains, 

Till  he  finds  the  red-deer's  trace. 


THE    RUNENBERG.  341 

Hark  !  his  trusty  dogs  are  baying 
Through  the  bright,  green  solitude  ; 

Through  the  groves  the  horns  are  playing ; 
O,  thou  merry,  gay,  green  wood ! 

In  some  dell,  when  luck  hath  blest  him, 
And  his  shot  hath  stretch'd  the  deer, 

Lies  he  down,  content,  to  rest  him, 
While  the  brooks  are  murmuring  clear. 

Leave  the  husbandman  his  sowing, 

Let  the  shipman  sail  the  sea; 
None,  when  bright  the  morn  is  glowing, 

Sees  its  red  so  fair  as  he. 

Wood,  and  wold,  and  game  that  prizes, 

While  Diana  loves  his  art ; 
And,  at  last,  some  bright  face  rises  5 

Happy  huntsman  that  thou  art ! 

Whilst  he  sung,  the  sun  had  sunk  deeper,  and  broad  shad- 
ows fell  across  the  narrow  glen.  A  cooling  twilight  glided 
over  the  ground  ;  and  now  only  the  tops  of  the  trees,  and 
the  round  summits  of  the  mountains,  were  gilded  by  the 
glow  of  evening.  Christian's  heart  grew  sadder  and  sadder; 
he  could  not  think  of  going  back  to  his  bird-fold,  and  yet  he 
could  not  stay ;  he  felt  himself  alone,  and  longed  to  meet 
with  men.  He  now  remembered  with  regret  those  old 
books  which  he  used  to  see  at  home,  and  would  never  read, 
often  as  his  father  had  advised  him  to  it ;  the  habitation  of 
his  childhood  came  before  him,  his  sports  with  the  youth  of 
the  village,  his  acquaintances  among  the  children,  the  school 
that  had  afflicted  him  so  much  ;  and  he  wished  he  were 
again  amid  these  scenes,  which  he  had  wilfully  forsaken,  to 
seek  his  fortune  in  unknown  regions,  in  the  mountains,  among 
strange  people,  in  a  new  employment.  Meanwhile  it  grew 
29* 


342 


TIECK. 


darker ;  and  the  brook  rushed  louder ;  and  the  birds  of 
night  began  to  shoot,  with  fitful  wing,  along  their  mazy- 
courses.  Christian  still  sat  disconsolate,  and  immersed  in 
sad  reflection ;  he  was  like  to  weep,  and  altogether  undeci- 
ded what  to  do  or  purpose.  Unthinkingly,  he  pulled  a 
straggling  root  from  the  earth  ;  and  on  the  instant  heard, 
with  affright,  a  stifled  moan  under  ground,  which  winded 
downwards  in  doleful  tones,  and  died  plaintively  away  in 
the  deep  distance.  The  sound  went  through  his  inmost 
heart ;  it  seized  him  as  if  he  had  unwittingly  touched  the 
wound,  of  which  the  dying  frame  of  Nature  was  expiring  in 
its  agony.  He  started  up  to  fly  ;  for  he  had  already  heard  of 
the  mysterious  mandrake-root,  which,  when  torn,  yields  such 
heart-rending  moans  that  the  person  who  has  hurt  it  runs 
distracted  by  its  wailing.  As  he  turned  to  go,  a  stranger 
man  was  standing  at  his  back,  who  looked  at  him  with  a 
friendly  countenance,  and  asked  him  whither  he  was  going. 
Christian  had  been  longing  for  society,  and  yet  he  started 
in  alarm  at  this  friendly  presence. 

"  Whither  so  fast  ?  "  said  the  stranger  again. 
The  young  hunter  made  an  effort  to  collect  himself,  and 
told  how  all  at  once  the  solitude  had  seemed  so  frightful  to 
him,  he  had  meant  to  get  away  ;  the  evening  was  so  dark, 
the  green  shades  of  the  wood  so  dreary,  the  brook  seemed 
uttering  lamentations,  and  his  longing  drew  him  over  to  the 
other  side  of  the  hills. 

"  You  are  but  young,"  said  the  stranger,  "  and  cannot  yet 
endure  the  rigor  of  solitude  ;  I  will  accompany  you,  for  you 
will  find  no  house  or  hamlet  within  a  league  of  this  ;  and  in 
the  way  we  may  talk,  and  tell  each  other  tales,  and  so  your 
sad  thoughts  will  leave  you  ;  in  an  hour  the  moon  will  rise 
behind  the  hills  ;  its  light  also  will  help  to  chase  away  the 
darkness  of  your  mind.'" 

They   went   along,  and   the   stranger   soon   appeared    to 


THE    RUNENBERG.  343 

Christian  as  if  he  had  been  an  old  acquaintance.  "Who 
are  you  ?  "  said  the  man ;  "  by  your  speech  I  hear  that  you 
belong  not  to  this  part." 

u  Ah  !  "  replied  the  other,  "  upon  this  I  could  say  much, 
and  yet  it  is  not  worth  the  telling  you,  or  talking  of.  There 
was  something  dragged  me,  with  a  foreign  force,  from  the 
circle  of  my  parents  and  relations  ;  my  spirit  was  not  master 
of  itself ;  like  a  bird  which  is  taken  in  a  net,  and  struggles 
to  no  purpose,  so  my  soul  was  meshed  in  strange  imagi- 
nations and  desires.  We  dwelt  far  hence,  in  a  plain,  where 
all  round  you  could  see  no  hill,  scarce  even  a  height ;  few 
trees  adorned  the  green  level ;  but  meadows,  fertile  corn- 
fields, gardens  stretched  away  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach; 
and  a  broad  river  glittered  like  a  potent  spirit  through  the 
midst  of  them.  My  father  was  gardener  to  a  nobleman, 
and  meant  to  breed  me  to  the  same  employment.  He  de- 
lighted in  plants  and  flowers  beyond  aught  else,  and  could 
unweariedly  pass  day  by  day  in  watching  them  and  tending 
them.  Nay,  he  went  so  far  as  to  maintain  that  he  could 
almost  speak  with  them  ;  that  he  got  knowledge  from  their 
growth  and  spreading,  as  well  as  from  the  varied  form  and 
color  of  their  leaves.  To  me,  however,  gardening  was  a 
tiresome  occupation  ;  and  the  more  so  that  my  father  kept 
persuading  me  to  take  it  up,  or  even  attempted  to  compel 
me  to  it  with  threats.  I  wished  to  be  a  fisherman,  and  tried 
that  business  for  a  time  ;  but  a  life  on  the  waters  would  not 
suit  me.  I  was  then  apprenticed  to  a  tradesman  in  the 
town  ;  but  soon  came  home  from  this  employment  also.  My 
father  happened  to  be  talking  of  the  Mountains,  which  he 
had  travelled  over  in  his  youth  ;  of  the  subterranean  mines 
and  their  workmen  ;  of  hunters  and  their  occupation  ;  and 
that  instant,  there  arose  in  me  the  most  decided  wish  ;  the 
feeling  that  at  last  I  had  found  out  the  way  of  life  which 
would   entirely  fit   me.     Day  and  night  I   meditated  on  the 


344  TIECK. 

matter ;  representing  to  myself  high  mountains,  chasms,  and 
pine  forests  ;  my  imagination  shaped  wild  rocks  ;  I  heard  the 
tumult  of  the  chase,  the  horns,  the  cry  of  the  hounds  and  the 
game  ;  all  my  dreams  were  filled  with  these  things,  and  they 
left  me  neither  peace  nor  rest  any  more.  The  plain,  our 
patron's  castle,  and  my  father's  little,  hampered  garden,  with 
its  trimmed  flower-beds ;  our  narrow  dwelling ;  the  wide  sky 
which  stretched  above  us  in  its  dreary  vastness,  embracing 
no  hill,  no  lofty  mountain,  all  became  more  dull  and  odious 
to  me.  It  seemed  as  if  the  people  about  me  were  living  in 
most  lamentable  ignorance  ;  that  every  one  of  them  would 
think  and  long  as  I  did,  should  the  feeling  of  their  wretched- 
ness but  once  arise  within  their  souls.  Thus  did  I  bait  my 
heart  with  restless  fancies  ;  till  one  morning  I  resolved  on 
leaving  my  father's  house  directly,  and  forever.  In  a  book 
I  had  found  some  notice  of  the  nearest  mountains,  some 
charts  of  the  neighboring  districts,  and  by  them  I  shaped  my 
course.  It  was  early  in  spring,  and  I  felt  myself  cheerful, 
and  altogether  light  of  heart.  I  hastened  on,  to  get  away 
the  faster  from  the  level  country  ;  and  one  evening,  in  the 
distance,  I  descried  the  dim  outline  of  the  Mountains,  lying 
on  the  sky  before  me.  1  could  scarcely  sleep  in  my  inn,  so 
impatient  did  I  feel  to  have  my  foot  upon  the  region  which  I 
regarded  as  my  home.  With  the  earliest  dawn  I  was  awake, 
and  again  in  motion.  By  the  afternoon,  I  had  got  among 
my  beloved  hills;  and  here,  as  if  intoxicated,  I  went  on, 
then  stopped  a  while,  looked  back;  and  drank,  as  in  inspir- 
ing draughts,  the  aspect  of  these  foreign,  yet  well-known 
objects.  Ere  long,  the  plain  was  out  of  sight;  the  forest 
streams  were  rushing  down  to  meet  me  ;  the  oaks  and 
beeches  sounded  to  me  from  their  steep  precipices  with 
wavering  boughs  ;  my  path  led  me  by  the  edge  of  dizzy 
abysses;  blue  hills  were  standing  vast  and  solemn  in  the 
distance.     A   new  world   was  opened   to  me  ;  I  was  never 


THE    RUNENBERG. 


345 


weary.  Thus,  after  some  days,  having  roamed  over  great 
part  of  the  Mountains,  I  reached  the  dwelling  of  an  old 
forester,  who  consented,  at  my  urgent  request,  to  take  me 
in,  and  instruct  me  in  the  business  of  the  chase.  It  is  now 
three  months  since  I  entered  his  service.  I  took  possession 
of  the  district  where  I  was  to  live,  as  of  my  kingdom.  I  got 
acquainted  with  every  cliff  and  dell  among  the  mountains  ; 
in  my  occupation,  when  at  dawn  of  day  we  moved  to  the 
forest,  when  felling  trees  in  the  wood,  when  practising  my 
fowling-piece,  or  training  my  trusty  attendants,  our  dogs,  to 
do  their  feats,  I  felt  completely  happy.  But  for  the  last 
eight  days  I  have  staid  up  here  at  the  fowling-floor,  in  the 
loneliest  quarter  of  the  hills  ;  and  to-night  I  grew  so  sad  as 
I  was  never  in  my  life  before  ;  I  seemed  so  lost,  so  utterly 
unhappy;  and  even  yet  I  cannot  shake  aside  that  melancho- 
ly humor." 

The  stranger  had  listened  with  attention,  while  they 
both  wandered  on  through  a  dark  alley  of  the  wood.  They 
now  came  out  into  the  open  country,  and  the  light  of  the 
moon,  which  was  standing  with  its  horns  over  the  summit  of 
the  hill,  saluted  them  like  a  friend.  In  undistinguishable  forms, 
and  many  separated  masses;  which  the  pale  gleam  again 
perplexingly  combined,  lay  the  cleft  mountain-range  before 
them  ;  in  the  back-ground  a  steep  hill,  on  the  top  of  which 
an  antique,  weathered  ruin  rose  ghastly  in  the  white  light. 
"  Our  roads  part  here,"  said  the  stranger ;  "  I  am  going 
down  into  this  hollow  ;  there,  by  that  old  mine  shaft,  is  my 
dwelling;  the  metal  ores  are  my  neighbors;  the  mine 
streams  tell  me  wonders  in  the  night ;  thither  thou  canst  not 
follow  me.  But  look,  there  stands  the  Runenberg,  with  its 
wild,  ragged  walls  ;  how  beautiful  and  alluring  the  grim  old 
rock  looks  down  on  us  !   Wert  thou  never  there  ?  " 

u  Never,"  said  the  hunter.  "  Once  I  heard  my  old  for- 
ester relating  strange  stories  of  that  hill,  which  I,  like  a  fool, 


346  T1ECK. 

have  forgotten;  only  I  remember  that  my  mind  that  night 
was  full  of  dread  and  unearthly  notions.  I  could  like  to 
mount  the  hill  some  time  ;  for  the  colors  there  are  of  the 
fairest,  the  grass  must  be  very  green,  the  world  around  one 
very  strange  ;  who  knows,  too,  but  one  might  chance  to  find 
some  curious  relic  of  the  ancient  time  up  there  ?  " 

"  You  could  scarcely  fail,"  replied  the  stranger  ;  "  who- 
ever knows  how  to  seek,  whoever  feels  his  heart  drawn 
towards  it  with  a  right  inward  longing,  will  find  friends  of 
former  ages  there,  and  glorious  things,  and  all  that  he 
wishes  most."  With  these  words  the  stranger  rapidly  de- 
scended to  a  side,  without  bidding  his  companion  farewell ; 
he  soon  vanished  in  the  tangles  of  the  thicket,  and  after  some 
few  instants,  the  sound  of  his  footsteps  also  died  away.  The 
young  hunter  did  not  feel  surprised,  he  but  went  on  with 
quicker  speed  towards  the  Runenberg.  Thither  all  things 
seemed  to  beckon  him  ;  the  stars  were  shining  towards  it ; 
the  moon  pointed  out  as  it  were  a  bright  road  to  the  ruins ; 
light  clouds  rose  up  to  them ;  and  from  the  depths,  the 
waters  and  sounding  woods  spoke  new  courage  into  him. 
His  steps  were  as  if  winged  ;  his  heart  throbbed  ;  he  felt  so 
great  a  joy  within  him,  that  it  rose  to  pain.  He  came  into 
places  he  had  never  seen  before ;  the  rocks  grew  steeper  \ 
the  green  disappeared  ;  the  bald  cliffs  called  to  him,  as  with 
angry  voices,  and  a  lone  moaning  wind  drove  him  on  be- 
fore it.  Thus  he  hurried  forward  without  pause  ;  and  late 
after  midnight  he  came  upon  a  narrow  footpath,  which  ran 
along  by  the  brink  of  an  abyss.  He  heeded  not  the  depth 
which  yawned  beneath,  and  threatened  to  swallow  him  for- 
ever ;  so  keenly  was  he  driven  along  by  wild  imaginations 
and  vague  wishes.  At  last  his  perilous  track  led  him  close 
by  a  high  wall,  which  seemed  to  lose  itself  in  the  clouds  ; 
the  path  grew  narrower  every  step  ;  and  Christian  had  to 
cling  by  projecting   stones   to    keep   himself  from  rushing 


THE    RUNENBERG.  347 

down  into  the  gulf.  Ere  long  he  could  get  no  farther  ;  his 
path  ended  underneath  a  window  ;  he  was  obliged  to  pause, 
and  knew  not  whether  he  should  turn  or  stay.  Suddenly  he 
saw  a  light,  which  seemed  to  move  within  the  ruined 
edifice.  He  looked  towards  the  gleam  ;  and  found  that  he 
could  see  into  an  ancient  spacious  hall  strangely  decorated, 
and  glittering  in  manifold  splendor,  with  multitudes  of  pre- 
cious stones  and  crystals,  the  hues  of  which  played  through 
each  other  in  mysterious  changes,  as  the  light  moved  to  and 
fro  ;  and  this  was  in  the  hand  of  a  stately  female,  who  kept 
walking  with  a  thoughtful  aspect  up  and  down  the  apart- 
ment. She  seemed  of  a  different  race  from  mortals;  so 
large,  so  strong  was  her  form,  so  earnest  her  look  ;  yet  the 
enraptured  huntsman  thought  he  had  never  seen  or  fancied 
such  surpassing  beauty.  He  trembled,  yet  secretly  wished 
she  might  come  near  the  window  and  observe  him.  At  last 
she  stopped  ;  set  down  the  light  on  a  crystal  table  ;  looked 
aloft,  and  sang  with  a  piercing  voice : 

What  can  the  Ancient  keep 

That  they  come  not  at  my  call  ? 

The  crystal  pillars  weep, 

From  the  diamonds  on  the  wall 

The  trickling  tear-drops  fall ; 

And  within  is  heard  a  moan, 

A  chiding,  fitful  tone: 

In  these  waves  of  brightness, 

Lovely,  changeful  lightness, 

Has  the  Shape  been  form'd, 

By  which  the  soul  is  charm'd, 

And  the  longing  heart  is  warm'd. 

Come,  ye  Spirits,  at  my  call, 

Haste  ye  to  the  Golden  Hall ; 

Raise,  from  your  abysses  gloomy, 

Heads  that  sparkle  ;  faster 

Come,  ye  Ancient  Ones,  come  to  me ! 


348  TIECK. 

Let  your  power  be  master 
Of  the  longing  hearts  and  souls, 
Where  the  flood  of  passion  rolls, 
Let  your  power  be  master ! 

On  finishing  the  song,  she  began  undressing;  laying  her 
apparel  in  a  costly  press.  First  she  took  a  golden  veil 
from  her  head  ;  and  her  long  black  hair  streamed  down 
in  curling  fulness  over  her  loins ;  then  she  loosed  her  bo- 
som-dress;  and  the  youth  forgot  himself  and  all  the  world, 
in  gazing  at  that  more  than  earthly  beauty.  He  scarcely 
dared  to  breathe,  as  by  degrees  she  laid  aside  her  other 
garments ;  at  last  she  walked  about  the  chamber  naked  ; 
and  her  heavy,  waving  locks  formed  round  her,  as  it  were, 
a  dark,  billowy  sea,  out  of  which,  like  marble,  the  glancing 
limbs  of  her  form  beamed  forth,  in  alternating  splendor. 
After  a  while,  she  went  forward  to  another  golden  press; 
and  took  from  it  a  tablet,  glittering  with  many  inlaid  stones, 
rubies,  diamonds,  and  all  kinds  of  jewels ;  and  viewed  it 
long  with  an  investigating  look.  The  tablet  seemed  to  form 
a  strange,  inexplicable  figure,  from  its  individual  lines  and 
colors ;  sometimes,  when  the  glance  of  it  came  towards 
the  hunter,  he  was  painfully  dazzled  by  it  ;  then,  again, 
soft  green  and  blue  playing  over  it  refreshed  his  eye ;  he 
stood,  however,  devouring  the  objects  with  his  looks,  and 
at  the  same  time  sunk  in  deep  thought.  Within  his  soul 
an  abyss  of  forms  and  harmony,  of  longing  and  voluptu- 
ousness, was  opened  ;  hosts  of  winged  tones,  and  sad  and 
joyful  melodies  flew  through  his  spirit,  which  was  moved 
to  its  foundations.  He  saw  a  world  of  Pain  and  Hope  arise 
within  him  ;  strong,  towering  crags  of  Trust  and  defiant 
Confidence,  and  deep  rivers  of  Sadness  flowing  by.  He  no  lon- 
ger knew  himself;  and  he  started  as  the  fair  woman  opened 
the  window,  handed  him  the  magic  tablet  of  stones,  and 
spoke  these  words  :  "  Take  this  in  memory  of  me  !  "     He 


THE    RUNENBERG.  349 

caught  the  tablet ;  and  felt  the  figure,  which,  unseen,  at 
once  went  through  his  inmost  heart ;  and  the  light,  and  the 
fair  woman,  and  the  wondrous  hall,  had  disappeared.  As 
it  were,  a  dark  night,  with  curtains  of  cloud,  fell  down 
over  his  soul ;  he  searched  for  his  former  feelings,  for  that 
inspiration  and  unutterable  love ;  he  looked  at  the  precious 
tablet,  and  the  sinking  moon  was  imaged  in  it  faint  and 
bluish. 

He  had  still  the  tablet  firmly  grasped  in  his  hands,  when 
the  morning  dawned ;  and  he,  exhausted,  giddy,  and  half- 
asleep,  fell  headlong  down  the  precipice. — 

The  sun  shone  bright  on  the  face  of  the  stupefied  sleeper ; 
and,  awakening,  he  found  himself  upon  a  pleasant  hill. 
He  looked  round,  and  saw  far  behind  him,  and  scarce  dis- 
cernible at  the  extreme  horizon,  the  ruins  of  the  Runenberg; 
he  searched  for  his  tablet,  and  could  find  it  nowhere.  As- 
tonished and  perplexed,  he  tried  to  gather  his  thoughts,  and 
connect  together  his  remembrances  ;  but  his  memory  was 
as  if  filled  with  a  waste  haze,  in  which  vague,  irrecognizable 
shapes  were  wildly  jostling  to  and  fro.  His  whole  previous 
life  lay  behind  him,  as  in  a  far  distance  ;  the  strangest  and 
the  commonest  were  so  mingled,  that  all  his  efforts  could 
not  separate  them.  After  long  struggling  with  himself,  he 
at  last  concluded  that  a  dream,  or  sudden  madness,  had 
come  over  him  that  night ;  only  he  could  never  understand 
how  he  had  strayed  so  far  into  a  strange  and  remote  quar- 
ter. 

Still  scarcely  waking,  he  went  down  the  hill ;  and  came 
upon  a  beaten  way,  which  led  him  out  from  the  mountains 
into  the  plain  country.  All  was  strange  to  him;  he  at  first 
thought  that  he  would  find  his  old  home ;  but  the  country 
which  he  saw  was  quite  unknown  to  him ;  and  at  length  he 
concluded  that  he  must  be  upon  the  south  side  of  the 
Mountains,  which,  in  spring,  he  had  entered  from  the  north. 

vol.  i.  30 


350 


TIECK. 


Towards  noon,  he  perceived  a  little  town  below  him ;  from 
its  cottages  a  peaceful  smoke  was  mounting  up ;  children, 
dressed  as  for  a  holiday,  were  sporting  on  the  green  ;  and 
from  a  small  church  came  the  sound  of  the  organ,  and  the 
singing  of  the  congregation.  All  this  laid  hold  of  him  with 
a  sweet,  inexpressible  sadness ;  it  so  moved  him,  that  he 
was  forced  to  weep.  The  narrow  gardens,  the  little  huts 
with  their  smoking  chimneys,  the  accurately-parted  corn- 
fields, reminded  him  of  the  necessities  of  poor  human 
nature  ;  of  man's  dependence  on  the  friendly  Earth,  to 
whose  benignity  he  must  commit  himself;  while  the  singing, 
and  the  music  of  the  organ,  filled  the  stranger's  heart  with 
a  devoutness  it  had  never  felt  before.  The  desires  and 
emotions  of  the  bygone  night  seemed  reckless  and  wicked  ; 
he  wished  once  more,  in  childlike  meekness,  helplessly 
and  humbly  to  unite  himself  to  men  as  to  his  brethren,  and 
fly  from  his  ungodly  purposes  and  feelings.  The  plain, 
with  its  little  river,  which,  in  manifold  windings,  clasped 
itself  about  the  gardens  and  meadows,  seemed  to  him  inviting 
and  delightful  ;  he  thought  with  fear  of  his  abode  among 
the  lonely  mountains  amid  waste  rocks  ;  he  wished  that  he 
could  be  allowed  to  live  in  this  peaceful  village  ;  and  so 
feeling,  he  went  into  its  crowded  church 

The  psalm  was  just  over,  and  the  preacher  had  begun 
his  sermon.  It  was  on  the  kindness  of  God  in  regard  to 
Harvest ;  how  His  goodness  feeds  and  satisfies  all  things 
that  live ;  how  marvellously  He  has,  in  the  fruits  of  the 
Earth,  provided  support  for  men  ;  how  the  love  of  God 
incessantly  displays  itself  in  the  bread  He  sends  us ;  and 
how  the  humble  Christian  may  therefore,  with  a  thankful 
spirit,  perpetually  celebrate  a  Holy  Supper.  The  congre- 
gation were  affected  ;  the  eyes  of  the  hunter  rested  on  the 
pious  priest,  and  observed,  close  by  the  pulpit,  a  young 
maiden,  who  appeared   beyond  all  others  reverent  and  at- 


THE     RUNENBERG.  351 

tentive.  She  was  slim  and  fair;  her  blue  eye  gleamed  with 
the  most  piercing  softness ;  her  face  was  as  if  transparent, 
and  blooming  in  the  tenderest  colors.  The  stranger  youth 
had  never  been  as  he  now  was ;  so  full  of  charity,  so  calm, 
so  abandoned  to  the  stillest,  most  refreshing  feelings.  He 
bowed  himself  in  tears,  when  the  clergyman  pronounced 
his  blessing  ;  he  felt  these  holy  words  thrill  through  him 
like  an  unseen  power  ;  and  the  vision  of  the  night  drew 
back  before  them  to  the  deepest  distance,  as  a  spectre  at  the 
dawn.  He  issued  from  the  church  ;  stopped  beneath  a 
large  lime-tree;  and  thanked  God,  in  a  heart-felt  prayer, 
that  He  had  saved  him,  sinful  and  undeserving,  from  the 
nets  of  the  Wicked  Spirit. 

The  people  were  engaged  in  holding  harvest-home  that 
day,  and  every  one  was  in  a  cheerful  mood  ;  the  children, 
with  their  gay  dresses,  were  rejoicing  in  the  prospect  of  the 
sweetmeats  and  the  dance ;  in  the  village  square,  a  space 
encircled  with  young  trees,  the  youths  were  arranging  the 
preparations  for  their  harvest  sport;  the  players  were  seated, 
and  essaying  their  instruments.  Christian  went  into  the 
fields  again,  to  collect  his  thoughts  and  pursue  his  medita- 
tions ;  and  on  his  returning  to  the  village,  all  had  joined  in 
mirth,  and  actual  celebration  of  their  festival.  The  fair- 
haired  Elizabeth  was  there,  too,  with  her  parents;  and  the 
stranger  mingled  in  the  jocund  throng.  Elizabeth  was  danc- 
ing ;  and  Christian,  in  the  meantime,  had  entered  into  con- 
versation with  her  father,  a  farmer,  and  one  of  the  richest 
people  in  the  village.  The  man  seemed  pleased  with  his 
youth  and  way  of  speech ;  so,  in  a  short  time,  both  of  them 
agreed  that  Christian  should  remain  with  him  as  gardener. 
This  office  Christian  could  engage  with  ;  for  he  hoped  that 
now  the  knowledge  and  employments,  which  he  had  so  much 
despised  at  home,  would  stand  him  in  good  stead. 

From  this  period,  a  new  life  began  for  him.     He  went  to 


352 


TIECK. 


live  with  the  farmer,  and  was  numbered  among  his  family. 
With  his  trade,  he  likewise  changed  his  garb.  He  was  so 
good,  so  helpful  and  kindly,  he  stood  to  his  task  so  honestly, 
that  ere  long  every  member  of  the  house,  especially  the 
daughter,  had  a  friendly  feeling  to  him.  Every  Sunday, 
when  he  saw  her  going  to  church,  he  was  standing  with  a 
fair  nosegay  ready  for  Elizabeth  ;  and  then  she  used  to 
thank  him  with  blushing  kindliness ;  he  felt  her  absence,  on 
days  when  he  did  not  chance  to  see  her  ;  and  at  night,  she 
would  tell  him  tales  and  pleasant  histories.  Day  by  day 
they  grew  more  necessary  to  each  other  ;  and  the  parents, 
who  observed  it,  did  not  seem  to  think  it  wrong;  for  Chris- 
tian was  the  most  industrious  and  handsomest  youth  in  the 
village.  They  themselves  had,  at  first  sight,  felt  a  touch  of 
love  and  friendship  for  him.  After  half  a  year,  Elizabeth 
became  his  wife.  Spring  was  come  back  ;  the  swallows  and 
the  singing  birds  had  revisited  the  land  ;  the  garden  was 
standing  in  its  fairest  trim  ;  the  marriage  was  celebrated 
with  abundant  mirth  ;  bride  and  bridegroom  seemed  intoxi- 
cated with  their  happiness.  Late  at  night,  when  they  re- 
tired to  their  chamber,  the  husband  whispered  to  his  wife  : 
"  No,  thou  art  not  that  form  which  once  charmed  me  in  a 
dream,  and  which  I  never  can  entirely  forget ;  but  I  am 
happy  beside  thee,  and  blessed  that  thou  art  mine." 

How  delighted  was  the  family,  when,  within  a  year,  it 
became  augmented  by  a  little  daughter,  who  was  baptized 
Leonora.  Christian's  looks,  indeed,  would  sometimes  take 
a  rather  grave  expression  as  he  gazed  on  the  child  ;  but  his 
youthful  cheeriness  continually  returned.  He  scarcely  ever 
thought  of  his  former  way  of  life,  for  he  felt  himself  entire- 
ly domesticated  and  contented.  Yet,  some  months  after- 
wards, his  parents  came  into  his  mind  ;  and  he  thought  how 
much  his  father,  in  particular,  would  be  rejoiced  to  see  his 
peaceful  happiness,  his  station  as  husbandman  and  gardener  ; 


THE    RUNENBERG.  353 

it  grieved  him  that  he  should  have  utterly  forgotten  his 
father  and  mother  for  so  long  a  time  ;  his  own  only  child  made 
known  to  him  the  joy  which  children  afford  to  parents ;  so 
at  last  he  took  the  resolution  to  set  out,  and  again  revisit 
home. 

Unwillingly  he  left  his  wife ;  all  wished  him  speed ;  and 
the  season  being  fine,  he  went  off  on  foot.  Already,  at  the 
distance  of  a  few  miles,  he  felt  how  much  the  parting 
grieved  him  ;  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  he  experienced 
the  pains  of  separation  ;  the  foreign  objects  seemed  to  him 
almost  savage  ;  he  felt  as  if  he  had  been  lost  in  some  un- 
friendly solitude.  Then  the  thought  came  on  him,  that  his 
youth  was  over  ;  that  he  had  found  a  home  to  which  he  now 
belonged,  in  which  his  heart  had  taken  root;  he  was  almost 
ready  to  lament  the  lost  levity  of  younger  years  ;  and  his 
mind  was  in  the  saddest  mood,  when  he  turned  aside  into  a 
village  inn  to  pass  the  night.  He  could  not  understand  how 
he  had  come  to  leave  his  kind  wife,  and  the  parents  she 
had  given  him;  and  he  felt  dispirited  and  discontented, 
when  he  rose  next  morning  to  pursue  his  journey. 

His  pain  increased  as  he  approached  the  hills  ;  the  distant 
ruins  were  already  visible,  and  by  degrees  grew  more  dis- 
tinguishable ;  many  summits  rose  defined  and  clear  amid 
the  blue  vapor.  His  step  grew  timid  ;  frequently  he  paused, 
astonished  at  his  fear ;  at  the  horror  which  with  every  step 
fell  closer  on  him.  "  Madness  !  "  cried  he,  "  I  know  thee 
well,  and  thy  perilous  seductions  ;  but  I  will  withstand  thee 
manfully.  Elizabeth  is  no  vain  dream  ;  I  know  that  even 
now  she  thinks  of  me,  that  she  waits  for  me,  and  fondly 
counts  the  hours  of  my  absence.  Do  I  not  already  see 
forests  like  black  hair  before  me  ?  Do  not  the  glancing 
eyes  look  to  me  from  the  brook  ?  Does  not  the  stately 
form  step  towards  me  from  the  mountains  ?  "  So  saying,  he 
was  about  to  lay  himself  beneath  a  tree,  and  take  some  rest ; 
30* 


354 


TIECK. 


when  he  perceived  an  old  man  seated  in  the  shade  of  itT 
examining  a  flower  with  extreme  attention;  now  holding  it 
to  the  sun,  now  shading  it  with  his  hands,  now  counting  its 
leaves  ;  as  if  striving  in  every  way  to  stamp  it  accurately 
in  his  memory.  On  approaching  nearer,  he  thought  he 
knew  the  form  ;  and  soon  no  doubt  remained  that  the  old 
man  with  the  flower  was  his  father.  With  an  exclamation 
of  the  liveliest  joy,  he  rushed  into  his  arms;  the  old  man 
seemed  delighted,  but  not  much  surprised,  at  meeting  him 
so  suddenly. 

"Art  thou  with  me  already,  my  son?"  said  he;  "I 
knew  that  I  should  find  thee  soon,  but  I  did  not  think  such 
joy  had  been  in  store  for  me  this  very  day." 

u  How  did  you  know,  father,  that  you  would  meet   me  ?  " 

"  By  this  flower,"  replied  the  old  gardener  ;  "  all  my 
days  I  have  had  a  wish  to  see  it  ;  but  never  had  I  the  for- 
tune ;  for  it  is  very  scarce,  and  grows  only  among  the  moun- 
tains. I  set  out  to  seek  thee,  for  thy  mother  is  dead,  and 
the  loneliness  at  home  made  me  sad  and  heavy.  I  knew 
not  whither  I  should  turn  my  steps  ;  at  last  I  came  among 
the  mountains,  dreary  as  the  journey  through  them  had  ap- 
peared to  me.  By  the  road,  I  sought  for  this  flower,  but 
could  find  it  nowhere  ;  and  now,  quite  unexpectedly,  I  see 
it  here,  where  the  fair  plain  is  lying  stretched  before  me. 
From  this  I  knew  that  I  should  meet  thee  soon  ;  and  lo ! 
how  true  the  fair  flower's  prophecy  has  proved  !  " 

They  embraced  again,  and  Christian  wept  for  his  mother; 
but  the  old  man  grasped  his  hand,  and  said  :  "  Let  us  go, 
that  the  shadows  of  the  mountains  may  be  soon  out  of  view  ; 
it  always  makes  me  sorrowful  in  the  heart  to  see  these  wild, 
steep  shapes,  these  horrid  chasms,  these  torrents  gurgling 
down  into  their  caverns.  Let  us  get  upon  the  good,  kind, 
guileless,  level  ground  again." 

They  went  back,  and  Christian  recovered   his  cheerful- 


THE    RUNENBERG.  355 

ness.  He  told  his  father  of  his  new  fortune,  of  his  child 
and  home  ;  his  speech  made  himself  as  if  intoxicated  ;  and 
he  now,  in  talking  of  it,  for  the  first  time  truly  felt  that 
nothing  more  was  wanting  to  his  happiness.  Thus,  amid 
narrations  sad  and  cheerful,  they  returned  into  the  village. 
All  were  delighted  at  the  speedy  ending  of  the  journey  ; 
most  of  all,  Elizabeth.  The  old  father  stayed  with  them, 
and  joined  his  little  fortune  to  their  stock ;  they  formed  the 
most  contented  and  united  circle  in  the  world.  Their  crops 
were  good,  their  cattle  throve  ;  and  in  a  few  years  Chris- 
tian's house  was  among  the  wealthiest  in  the  quarter ;  Eliz- 
abeth had  also  given  him  several  other  children. 

Five  years  had  passed  away  in  this  manner,  when  a 
stranger  halted  from  his  journey  in  their  village  *,  and  took 
up  his  lodging  in  Christian's  house,  as  being  the  most  re- 
spectable the  place  contained.  He  was  a  friendly,  talking 
man  ;  he  told  them  many  stories  of  his  travels;  sported  with 
the  children,  and  made  presents  to  them.  In  a  short  time, 
all  were  growing  fond  of  him.  He  liked  the  neighborhood 
so  well,  that  he  proposed  remaining  in  it  for  a  day  or  two  ; 
but  the  days  grew  weeks,  and  the  weeks  months.  No  one 
seemed  to  wonder  at  his  loitering;  for  all  of  them  had 
grown  accustomed  to  regard  him  as  a  member  of  the  fam- 
ily. Christian  alone  would  often  sit  in  a  thoughtful  mood  ; 
for  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  knew  this  traveller  of  old,  and 
yet  he  could  not  think  of  any  time  when  he  had  met  with 
him.  Three  months  had  passed  away,  when  the  stranger 
at  last  took  his  leave,  and  said  :  "  My  dear  friends,  a  wond- 
rous destiny,  and  singular  anticipations,  drive  me  to  the 
neighboring  mountains  ;  a  magic  image,  not  to  be  withstood, 
allures  me ;  I  leave  you  now,  and  I  know  not  whether  I 
shall  ever  see  you  any  more.  I  have  a  sum  of  money  by 
me,  which  in  your  hands  will  be  safer  than  in  mine;  so  I 
ask  you  to  take  charge  of  it ;  and  if  within  a  year  I  come 


356  TIECK. 

not  back,  then  keep  it,  and  accept  my  thanks  along  with  it 
for  the  kindness  you  have  shown  me." 

So  the  traveller  went  his  way,  and  Christian  took  the 
money  in  charge.  He  locked  it  carefully  up;  and  now  and 
then,  in  the  excess  of  his  anxiety,  looked  over  it;  he  count- 
ed it  to  see  that  none  was  missing,  and  in  all  respects  took 
no  little  pains  with  it.  "  This  sum  might  make  us  very 
happy,"  said  he  once  to  his  father;  "should  the  stranger 
not  return,  both  we  and  our  children  were  well  provided 
for." 

"  Heed  not  the  gold,"  said  the  old  man  ;  "  not  in  it  can 
happiness  be  found  ;  hitherto,  thank  God,  we  have  never 
wanted  aught ;  and  do  thou  put  away  such  thoughts  far  from 
thee." 

Christian  often  rose  in  the  night  to  set  his  servants  to  their 
labor,  and  look  after  everything  himself;  his  father  was 
afraid  lest  this  excessive  diligence  might  harm  his  youth  and 
health;  so  one  night  he  rose  to  speak  with  him  about  con- 
tracting such  unreasonable  efforts  ;  when,  to  his  astonish- 
ment, he  found  him  sitting  with  a  little  lamp  at  his  table, 
and  counting,  with  the  greatest  eagerness,  the  stranger's 
gold.  "  My  son,"  said  the  old  man,  full  of  sadness;  "  must 
it  come  to  this  with  thee  ?  Was  this  accursed  metal  brought 
beneath  our  roof  to  make  us  wretched  ?  Bethink  thee,  my 
son,  or  the  Evil  One  will  consume  thy  blood  and  life  out  of 
thee." 

"  Yes,"  replied  he  ;  "  it  is  true,  I  know  myself  no  more  ; 
neither  day  nor  night  does  it  give  me  any  rest ;  see  how  it 
looks  on  me  even  now,  till  the  red  glance  of  it  goes  into  my 
very  heart!  Hark  how  it  clinks,  this  golden  stuff!  It  calls 
me  when  I  sleep  ;  I  hear  it  when  music  sounds,  when  the 
wind  blows,  when  people  speak  together  on  the  street ;  if 
the  sun  shines,  I  see  nothing  but  these  yellow  eyes,  with 
which  it  beckons  to  me,  as  it  were,  to  whisper  words  of  love 


THE    RUNENBERG.  357 

into  my  ear  ;  and  therefore  I  am  forced  to  rise  in  the  night, 
time,  though  it  were  but  to  satisfy  its  eagerness  ;  and  then  I 
feel  it  triumphing  and  inwardly  rejoicing  when  I  touch  it 
with  my  fingers  ;  in  its  joy,  it  grows  still  redder  and  lord- 
lier. Do  but  look  yourself  at  the  glow  of  its  rapture  !  " 
The  old  man,  shuddering  and  weeping,  took  his  son  in  his 
arms;  he  said  a  prayer,  and  then  spoke:  "  Christel,  thou 
must  turn  again  to  the  Word  of  God  ;  thou  must  go  more 
zealously  and  reverently  to  church,  or  else,  alas  !  my  poor 
child,  thou  wilt  droop  and  die  away  in  the  most  mournful 
wretchedness." 

The  money  was  again  locked  up  ;  Christian  promised  to 
take  thought  and  change  his  conduct,  and  the  old  man  was 
composed.  A  year  and  more  had  passed,  and  no  tidings 
had  been  heard  of  the  stranger  ;  the  old  man  at  last  gave 
in  to  the  entreaties  of  his  son ;  and  the  money  was  laid  out 
in  land,  and  other  property.  The  young  farmer's  riches 
soon  became  the  talk  of  the  village  ;  and  Christian  seemed 
contented  and  comfortable,  and  his  father  felt  delighted  at 
beholding  him  so  well  and  cheerful  ;  all  fear  had  now  van- 
ished from  his  mind.  What  then  must  have  been  his  con- 
sternation, when  Elizabeth  one  evening  took  him  aside, 
and  told  him,  with  tears,  that  she  could  no  longer  understand 
her  husband  ;  how  he  spoke  so  wildly,  especially  at  night ; 
how  he  dreamed  strange  dreams,  and  would  often  in  his 
sleepwalk  long  about  the  room,  not  knowing  it;  how  he 
spoke  strange  things  to  her,  at  which  she  often  shuddered. 
But  what  terrified  her  most,  she  said,  was  his  pleasantry  by 
day;  for  his  laugh  was  wild  and  hollow,  his  look  wandering 
and  strange.  The  father  stood  amazed,  and  the  sorrowing 
wife  proceeded  :  "  He  is  always  talking  of  the  traveller, 
and  maintaining  that  he  knew  him  formerly,  and  that  the 
stranger  man  was  in  truth  a  woman  of  unearthly  beauty  ; 
nor  will  he  go  any  more  into  the  fields  or  the  garden  to 


358  TIKCK. 

work,  for  he  says  he  hears  underneath  the  ground  a  fearful 
moaning,  when  he  but  pulls  out  a  root ;  he  starts  and  seems 
to  feel  a  horror  at  all  plants  and  herbs." 

"  Good  God  ! "  exclaimed  the  father,  "  is  the  frightful 
hunger  in  him  grown  so  rooted  and  strong,  that  it  is  come 
to  this?  Then  is  his  spell-bound  heart  no  longer  human, 
but  of  cold  metal ;  he  who  does  not  love  a  flower  has  lost 
all  love  and  fear  of  God." 

Next  day  the  old  man  went  to  walk  with  his  son,  and  told 
him  much  of  what  Elizabeth  had  said;  calling  on  him  to  be 
pious,  and  devote  his  soul  to  holy  contemplations.  "  Wil- 
lingly, my  father,"  answered  Christian;  "  and  I  often  do  so 
with  success,  and  all  is  well  with  me  ;  for  long  periods  of 
time,  for  years,  I  can  forget  the  true  form  of  my  inward  man, 
and  lead  a  life  that  is  foreign  to  me,  as  it  were,  with  cheer- 
fulness ;  but  then  on  a  sudden,  like  a  new  moon,  the  ruling 
star,  which  I  myself  am,  arises  again  in  my  heart,  and  con- 
quers this  other  influence.  I  might  be  altogether  happy  ; 
but  once,  in  a  mysterious  night,  a  secret  sign  was  imprinted 
through  my  hand  deep  on  my  soul ;  frequently  the  magic 
figure  sleeps  and  is  at  rest ;  I  imagine  it  has  passed  away  ;  but 
in  a  moment,  like  a  poison,  it  darts  up  and  lives  over  all  its 
lineaments.  And  then  I  can  think  or  feel  nothing  else  but 
it ;  and  all  around  me  is  transformed,  or  rather  swallowed 
up,  by  this  subduing  shape.  As  the  rabid  man  recoils  at 
the  sight  of  water,  and  the  poison  in  him  grows  more  fell  ; 
so  too  it  is  with  me  at  the  sight  of  any  cornered  figure,  any 
line,  any  gleam  of  brightness ;  anything  will  then  rouse  the 
form  that  dwells  in  me,  and  make  it  start  into  being  ;  and 
my  soul  and  body  feel  the  throes  of  birth  ;  for  as  my 
mind  received  it  by  a  feeling  from  without,  she  strives  in 
agony  and  bitter  labor  to  work  it  forth  again  into  an  outward 
feeling,  that  she  may  be  rid  of  it,  and  at  rest." 

"  J.t  was  an  evil  star,  that  took  thee  from  us  to  the  Moun- 


THE    RUNENBERG. 


359 


tains,"  said  the  old  man  ;  "  thou  wert  born  for  calm  life,  thy 
mind  inclined  to  peace  and  the  love  of  plants ;  then  thy  im- 
patience hurried  thee  away  to  the  company  of  savage 
stones  ;  the  crags,  the  torn  cliffs,  with  their  jagged  shapes, 
have  overturned  thy  soul,  and  planted  in  thee  the  wasting 
hunger  for  metals.  Thou  shouldst  still  have  been  on  thy  guard, 
and  kept  thyself  away  from  the  view  of  mountains.  So  I 
meant  to  bring  thee  up,  but  it  has  not  so  been  to  be.  Thy 
humility,  thy  peace,  thy  childlike  feeling,  have  been  thrust 
away  by  scorn,  boisterousness,  and  caprice." 

"  No,"  said  the  son ;  "  I  remember  well  that  it  was  a 
plant  which  first  made  known  to  me  the  misery  of  the 
Earth.  Never,  till  then,  did  I  understand  the  sighs  and 
lamentations  one  may  hear  on  every  side,  throughout  the 
whole  of  Nature,  if  one  but  give  ear  to  them.  In  plants 
and  herbs,  in  trees  and  flowers,  it  is  the  painful  writhing  of 
one  universal  wound  that  moves  and  works  ;  they  are  the 
corpse  of  foregone  glorious  worlds  of  rock,  they  offer  to  our 
eye  a  horrid  universe  of  putrefaction.  I  now  see  clearly  it 
was  this,  which  the  root  with  its  deep-drawn  sigh  was  saying 
to  me;  in  its  sorrow  it  forgot  itself,  and  told  me  all.  It  is  be- 
cause of  this  that  all  green  shrubs  are  so  enraged  at  me,  and 
lie  in  wait  for  my  life  ;  they  wish  to  obliterate  that  lovely 
figure  in  my  heart ;  and  every  spring,  with  their  distorted, 
death-like  looks,  they  try  to  win  my  soul.  Truly  it  is  piteous 
to  consider  how  they  have  betrayed  and  cozened  thee,  old 
man  ;  for  they  have  gained  complete  possession  of  thy  spirit. 
Do  but  question  the  rocks,  and  thou  wilt  be  amazed  when 
thou  shalt  hear  them  speak." 

The  father  looked  at  him  a  long  while,  and  could  answer 
nothing.  They  went  home  again  in  silence,  and  the  old 
man  was  as  frightened  as  Elizabeth  at  Christian's  mirth  ; 
for  it  seemed  a  thing  quite  foreign  ;  and  as  if  another  being 
from  within  were  working  out  of  him,  awkwardly  and  in- 
effectually, as  out  of  some  machine. 


360  TIECK. 

The  harvest-home  was  once  more  to  be  held ;  the  people 
went  to  church,  and  Elizabeth,  with  her  little  ones,  set  out 
to  join  the  service  ;  her  husband  also  seemed  intending  to 
accompany  them,  but  at  the  threshold  of  the  church  he 
turned  aside ;  and  with  an  air  of  deep  thought,  walked  out 
of  the  village.  He  set  himself  on  the  height,  and  again 
looked  over  upon  the  smoking  cottages  ;  he  heard  the  music 
of  the  psalm  and  organ  coming  from  the  little  church  ; 
children,  in  holiday  dresses,  were  dancing  and  sporting  on 
the  green.  "  How  have  I  lost  my  life  as  in  a  dream  !  " 
said  he  to  himself;  "  years  have  passed  away  since  I  went 
down  this  hill  to  the  merry  children  ;  they  who  were  then 
sportful  on  the  green  are  now  serious  in  the  church  ;  I  also 
once  went  into  it,  but  Elizabeth  is  now  no  more  a  blooming, 
childlike  maiden  ;  her  youth  is  gone  ;  I  cannot  seek  for  the 
glance  of  her  eyes  with  the  longing  of  those  days  ;  I  have 
wilfully  neglected  a  high,  eternal  happiness,  to  win  one  which 
is  finite  and  transitory.'" 

With  a  heart  full  of  wild  desire,  he  walked  to  the  neigh- 
boring wood,  and  immersed  himself  in  its  thickest  shades. 
A  ghastly  silence  encompassed  him  ;  no  breath  of  air  was 
stirring  in  the  leaves.  Meanwhile,  he  saw  a  man  approach- 
ing him  from  a  distance,  whom  he  recognized  for  the 
stranger ;  he  started  in  affright,  and  his  first  thought  was, 
that  the  man  would  ask  him  for  his  money.  But  as  the 
form  came  nearer,  he  perceived  how  greatly  he  had  been 
mistaken  ;  for  the  features,  which  he  had  imagined  known 
to  him,  melted  into  one  another ;  an  old  woman  of  the 
utmost  hideousness  approached  ;  she  was  clad  in  dirty  rags  ; 
a  tattered  clout  bound  up  her  few  grey  hairs  ;  she  was 
limping  on  a  crutch.  With  a  dreadful  voice  she  spoke  to 
him,  and  asked  his  name  and  situation.  He  replied  to  both 
inquiries,  and  then  said,  "  But  who  art  thou  ?  " 

t;  I  am  called   the  Woodwoman,"  answered   she  ;  "  and 


THE    RUNENBERG.  361 

every  child  can  tell  of  me.  Didst  thou  never  see  me  be- 
fore ?  "  With  the  last  words  she  whirled  about,  and  Chris- 
tian thought  he  recognized  among  the  trees  the  golden  veil, 
the  lofty  gait,  the  large  stately  form  which  he  had  once 
beheld  of  old.  He  turned  to  hasten  after  her,  but  nowhere 
was  she  to  be  seen. 

Meanwhile,  something  glittered  in  the  grass,  and  drew 
his  eye  to  it.  He  picked  it  up  ;  it  was  the  magic  tablet 
with  the  colored  jewels,  and  the  wondrous  figure,  which  he 
had  lost  so  many  years  before.  The  shape  and  the  change- 
ful gleams  struck  over  all  his  senses  with  an  instantaneous 
power.  He  grasped  it  firmly,  to  convince  himself  that  it 
was  really  once  more  in  his  hands,  and  then  hastened  back 
with  it  to  the  village.  His  father  met  him.  "  See,"  cried 
Christian,  "  the  thing  which  I  was  telling  you  about  so 
often,  which  I  thought  must  have  been  shown  to  me  only  in 
a  dream,  is  now  sure  and  true." 

The  old  man  looked  a  long  while  at  the  tablet,  and  then 
said  :  "  My  son,  I  am  struck  with  horror  in  my  heart  when 
I  view  these  stones,  and  dimly  guess  the  meaning  of  the 
words  on  them.  Look  here,  how  cold  they  glitter,  what 
cruel  looks  they  cast  from  them,  bloodthirsty,  like  the  red 
eye  of  the  tiger!  Cast  this  writing  from  thee,  which 
makes  thee  cold  and  cruel,  which  will  turn  thy  heart  to 
stone  : 

See  the  flowers,  when  morn  is  beaming, 

Waken  in  their  dewy  place; 
And,  like  children  roused  from  dreaming, 

Smiling  look  thee  in  the  face. 

By  degrees,  that  way  and  this, 

To  the  golden  Sun  they  're  turning, 
Till  they  meet  his  glowing  kiss, 
And  their  he 
vol.  i.  31 


362  TIECK. 

For,  with  fond  and  sad  desire, 

In  their  lover's  looks  to  languish, 
On  his  melting  kiss  to  expire, 

And  to  die  of  love's  sweet  anguish : 

This  is  what  they  joy  in  most ; 

To  depart  in  fondest  weakness  ; 
In  their  lover's  being  lost, 

Faded  stand  in  silent  meekness. 

Then  they  pour  away  the  treasure 

Of  their  perfumes,  their  soft  souls, 
And  the  air  grows  drunk  with  pleasure, 

As  in  wanton  floods  it  rolls. 

Love  comes  to  us  here  below, 

Discord  harsh  away  removing  ; 
And  the  heart  cries  :  "  Now  I  know 

Sadness,  Fondness,  Pain  of  Loving." 

u  What  wonderful,  incalculable  treasures,"  said  the  other, 
**  must  there  still  be  in  the  depths  of  the  Earth  !  Could  one 
but  sound  into  their  secret  beds  and  raise  them  up,  and 
snatch  them  to  oneself!  Could  one  but  clasp  this  Earth 
like  a  beloved  bride  to  one's  bosom,  so  that  in  pain  and  love 
she  would  willingly  grant  one  her  costliest  riches!  The 
Woodwoman  has  called  me ;  I  go  to  seek  for  her.  Near 
by  is  an  old  ruined  shaft,  which  some  miner  has  hollowed 
out  many  centuries  ago  ;  perhaps  I  shall  find  her  there  !  " 

He  hastened  off.  In  vain  did  the  old  man  strive  to  detain 
him  ;  in  a  few  moments  Christian  had  vanished  from  his 
sight.  Some  hours  afterwards,  the  father,  with  a  strong 
effort,  reached  the  ruined  shaft ;  he  saw  footprints  in  the 
sand  at  the  entrance,  and  returned  in  tears ;  persuaded  that 
his  son,  in  a  state  of  madness,  had  gone  in,  and  been 
drowned  in  the  old  collected  waters,  and  horrid  caves  of  the 
mine. 


THE    RUNENBERG.  363 

From  that  day  his  heart  seemed  broken,  and  he  was  in- 
cessantly in  tears.  The  whole  neighborhood  deplored  the 
fortune  of  the  young  farmer.  Elizabeth  was  inconsolable, 
the  children  lamented  aloud.  In  half  a  year  the  aged  gar- 
dener died  ;  the  parents  of  Elizabeth  soon  followed  him  ; 
and  she  was  forced  herself  to  take  charge  of  everything. 
Her  multiplied  engagements  helped  a  litttle  to  withdraw  her 
from  her  sorrow  ;  the  education  of  her  children,  and  the 
management  of  so  much  property,  left  little  time  for  mourn- 
ing. After  two  years,  she  determined  on  a  new  marriage; 
she  bestowed  her  hand  on  a  young,  light-hearted  man,  who 
had  loved  her  from  his  youth.  But,  ere  long,  everything  in 
their  establishment  assumed  another  form.  The  cattle  died; 
men  and  maid-servants  proved  dishonest;  barns  full  of  grain 
were  burnt;  people  in  the  town,  who  owed  them  sums  of 
money,  fled  and  made  no  payment.  In  a  little  while,  the 
landlord  found  himself  obliged  to  sell  some  fields  and  mead- 
ows ;  but  a  mildew,  and  a  year  of  scarcity,  brought  new 
embarrassments.  It  seemed  as  if  the  gold,  so  strangely 
acquired,  were  taking  speedy  flight  in  all  directions.  Mean- 
while, the  family  was  on  the  increase  ;  and  Elizabeth,  as 
well  as  her  husband,  grew  reckless  and  sluggish  in  this 
scene  of  despair.  He  fled  for  consolation  to  the  bottle,  he 
was  often  drunk,  and  therefore  quarrelsome  and  sullen  ;  so 
that  frequently  Elizabeth  bewailed  her  state  with  bitter  tears. 
As  their  fortune  declined,  their  friends  in  the  village  stood 
aloof  from  them  more  and  more ;  so  that  after  some  few 
years  they  saw  themselves  entirely  forsaken,  and  were 
forced  to  struggle  on,  in  penury  and  straits,  from  week  to 
week. 

They  had  nothing  but  a  cow  and  a  few  sheep  left  them  ; 
these  Elizabeth  herself,  with  her  children,  often  tended  at 
their  grass.  She  was  sitting  one  day  with  her  work  in  the 
field,  Leonora  at  her  side,  and  a  sucking  child  on  her  breast, 


364 


TIECK. 


when  they  saw  from  afar  a  strange-looking  shape  approach- 
ing towards  them.  It  was  a  man  with  a  garment  all  in 
tatters,  barefoot,  sunburnt  to  a  black  brown  color  in  the 
face,  deformed  still  farther  by  a  long  matted  beard  ;  he  wore 
no  covering  on  his  head  ;  but  had  twisted  a  garland  of  green 
branches  through  his  hair,  which  made  his  wild  appearance 
still  more  strange  and  haggard.  On  his  back  he  bore  some 
heavy  burden  in  a  sack,  very  carefully  tied,  and  as  he 
walked,  he  leaned  upon  a  young  fir. 

On  coming  nearer,  he   put  down  his   load,  and  drew  deep 
draughts   of   breath.       He    bade   Elizabeth    good-day  ;    she 
shuddered  at  the  sight  of  him,  the  girl  crouched  close  to  her 
mother.     Having  rested  for  a  little   while,   he  said  :  "lam 
getting  back  from  a   very  hard  journey  among  the   wildest 
mountains   of  the   Earth  ;    but  to    pay   me   for   it,   I   have 
brought  along  with  me  the  richest  treasures  which  imagina- 
tion   can    conceive,   or   heart    desire.       Look    here,    and 
wonder ! "     Thereupon   he    loosed   his  sack,    and    shook    it 
empty ;  it.  was  full  of  gravel,  among  which  were  to  be  seen 
large  bits  of  chuck-stone,  and  other  pebbles.     "  These  jew- 
els," he  continued,  "  are  not   ground  and   polished   yet,  so 
they  want  the  glance  and  the  eye  ;  the  outward  fire,  with  its 
glitter,  is  too  deeply  buried   in   their  inmost  heart ;  yet  you 
have  but  to  strike  it  out  and   frighten   them,  and   show  that 
no  deceit  will  serve,  and  then  you  see  what  sort  of  stuff  they 
are."     So  saying,  he  took  a  piece  of  flinty  stone,  and  struck 
it  hard  against  another,   till   they  gave   red  sparks   between 
them.     "  Did  you  see  the  glance  ?  "  cried  he.     "  Ay,  they 
are  all   fire  and    light ;  they   illuminate  the  darkness   with 
their   laugh,   though  as  yet  it  is  against  their  will."     With 
this  he   carefully  repacked   his  pebbles   in  the  bag,  and  tied 
it  hard  and  fast.     "  I  know  thee  very  well,"  said  he  then, 
with  a  saddened  tone  ;  "thou  art  Elizabeth."     The  woman 
started. 


THE    RUNENBERG.  365 

u  How  comest  thou  to  know  my  name  ?  "  cried  she,  with 
a  forecasting  shudder. 

44  Ah,  good  God  !  "  said  the  unhappy  creature,  44 1  am 
Christian,  he  that  was  a  hunter.  Dost  thou  not  know  me, 
then  ?  " 

She  knew  not,  in  her  horror  and  deepest  compassion, 
what  to  say.  He  fell  upon  her  neck  and  kissed  her.  Eliza- 
beth exclaimed  :  "  O  Heaven  !  my  husband  is  coming  !  " 

44  Be  at  thy  ease,"  said  he  ;  44 1  am  as  good  as  dead  to 
thee  ;  in  the  forest,  there,  my  fair  one  waits  for  me ;  she 
that  is  tall  and  stately,  with  the  black  hair,  and  the  golden 
veil.  This  is  my  dearest  child,  Leonora.  Come  hither, 
darling  ;  come,  my  pretty  child  ;  and  give  me  a  kiss,  too  ; 
one  kiss,  that  I  may  feel  thy  mouth  upon  my  lips  once 
again,  and  then  I  leave  you." 

Leonora  wept ;  she  clasped  close  to  her  mother,  who,  in 
sobs  and  tears,  half  held  her  towards  the  wanderer,  while 
he  half  drew  her  towards  him,  took  her  in  his  arms,  and 
pressed  her  to  his  breast.  Then  he  went  away  in  silence, 
and  in  the  wood  they  saw  him  speaking  with  the  hideous 
Wood  woman. 

44  What  ails  you  ?  "  said  the  husband,  as  he  found  mother 
and  daughter  pale  and  melting  in  tears.  Neither  of  them 
answered. 

The  ill-fated  creature  was  never  seen  again  from  that 
day. 


31 


IV. 

THE   ELVES 


"  Where  is  our  little  Mary  ?  "  said  the  father. 

"  She  is  playing  out  upon  the  green  there,  with  our  neigh- 
bor's boy,"  replied  the  mother. 

u  I  wish  they  may  not  run  away  and  lose  themselves," 
said  he  ;  "  they  are  so  thoughtless." 

The  mother  looked  for  the  little  ones,  and  brought  them 
their  evening  luncheon.  "  It  is  warm,"  said  the  boy  ;  "  and 
Mary  had  a  longing  for  the  red  cherries." 

"  Have  a  care,  children,"  said  the  mother,  "  and  do  not 
run  too  far  from  home,  and  not  into  the  wood.  Father  and  I 
are  going  to  the  fields." 

Little  Andres  answered:  "  Never  fear,  the  wood  fright- 
ens us ;  we  shall  sit  here  by  the  house,  where  there  are 
people  near  us." 

The  mother  went  in,  and  soon  came  out  again  with  her 
husband.  They  locked  the  door,  and  turned  towards  the 
fields  to  look  after  their  laborers,  and  see  their  hay-harvest 
ill  the  meadow.  Their  house  lay  upon  a  little  green  height, 
encircled  by  a  pretty  ring  of  paling,  which  likewise  enclosed 
their  fruit  and  flower  garden.  The  hamlet  stretched  some- 
what deeper  down,  and  on  the  other  side  lay  the  castle  of 
the  Count.  Martin  rented  the  large  farm  from  this  noble- 
man ;  and  was  living  in  contentment  with  his  wife  and  only 
child  ;  for  he  yearly  saved  some  money,  and  had  the  pros- 
pect of  becoming  a  man  of  substance  by  his  industry,  for  the 
ground  was  productive,  and  the  Count  not  illiberal. 


THE    ELVES. 


367 


As  he  walked  with  his  wife  to  the  fields,  he  gazed  cheer- 
fully round,  and  said  :  "  What  a  different  look  this  quarter 
has,  Brigitta,  from  the  place  we  lived  in  formerly!  Here 
it  is  all  so  green ;  the  whole  village  is  bedecked  with  thick- 
spreading  fruit-trees  ;  the  ground  is  full  of  beautiful  herbs 
and  flowers ;  all  the  houses  are  cheerful  and  cleanly  ;  the 
inhabitants  are  at  their  ease  ;  nay,  I  could  almost  fancy  that 
the  woods  are  greener  here  than  elsewhere,  and  the  sky 
bluer  ;  and,  so  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  you  have  pleasure 
and  delight  in  beholding  the  bountiful  Earth." 

"And  whenever  you  cross  the  stream,"  said  Brigitta, 
"you  are,  as  it  were,  in  another  world,  all  is  so  dreary  and 
withered  ;  but  every  traveller  declares  that  our  village  is 
the  fairest  in  the  country  far  and  near." 

"All  but  that  fir-ground,"  said  her  husband;  "do  but 
look  back  to  it,  how  dark  and  dismal  that  solitary  spot  is 
lying  in  the  gay  scene  ;  the  dingy  fir-trees  with  the  smoky 
huts  behind  them,  the  ruined  stalls,  the  brook  flowing  past 
with  a  sluggish  melancholy." 

"  It  is  true,"  replied  Brigitta;  "if  you  but  approach  that 
spot  you  grow  disconsolate  and  sad,  you  know  not  why. 
What  sort  of  people  can  they  be  that  live  there,  and  keep 
themselves  so  separate  from  the  rest  of  us,  as  if  they  had 
an  evil  conscience  ?  " 

"A  miserable  crew,"  replied  the  young  Farmer;  "gyp- 
sies, seemingly,  that  steal  and  cheat  in  other  quarters,  and 
have  their  hoard  and  hiding-place  here.  I  wonder  only 
that  his  Lordship  suffers  them." 

"  Who  knows,"  said  the  wife,  with  an  accent  of  pity, 
"  but  perhaps  they  may  be  poor  people,  wishing,  out  of 
shame,  to  conceal  their  poverty ;  for,  after  all,  no  one  can 
say  aught  ill  of  them;  the  only  thing  is,  that  they  do  not 
go  to  church,  and  none  knows  how  they  live  ;  for  the  little 
garden,  which  indeed  seems  altogether  waste,  cannot  pos- 
sibly support  them  ;  and  fields  they  have  none." 


368  TIECK. 

"  God  knows,"  said  Martin,  as  they  went  along,  "  what 
trade  they  follow  ;  no  mortal  comes  to  them  ;  for  the  place 
they  live  in  is  as  if  bewitched  and  excommunicated,  so  that 
even  our  wildest  fellows  will  not  venture  into  it." 

Such  conversation  they  pursued,  while  walking  to  the 
fields.  That  gloomy  spot  they  spoke  of  lay  aside  from  the 
hamlet.  In  a  dell,  begirt  with  firs,  you  might  behold  a  hut, 
and  various  ruined  office-houses;  rarely  was  smoke  seen 
to  mount  from  it,  still  more  rarely  did  men  appear  there  ; 
though  at  times  curious  people,  venturing  somewhat  nearer, 
had  perceived  upon  the  bench  before  the  hut  some  hideous 
women,  in  ragged  clothes,  dandling  in  their  arms  some 
children  equally  dirty  and  ill-favored  ;  black  dogs  were 
running  up  and  down  upon  the  boundary  ;  and,  of  an  eve- 
ning, a  man  of  monstrous  size  was  seen  to  cross  the  foot- 
bridge of  the  brook,  and  disappear  in  the  hut ;  and  in  the 
darkness  various  shapes  were  observed,  moving  like  shad- 
ows round  a  fire  in  the  open  air.  This  piece  of  ground, 
the  firs,  and  the  ruined  huts,  formed  in  truth  a  strange  con- 
trast with  the  bright  green  landscape,  the  white  houses  of 
the  hamlet,  and  the  stately  new-built  castle. 

The  two  little  ones  had  now  eaten  their  fruit;  it  came 
into  their  heads  to  run  races ;  and  the  little  nimble  Mary 
always  got  the  start  of  the  less  active  Andres.  "It  is  not 
fair,"  cried  Andres  at  last;  "let  us  try  it  for  some  length, 
then  we  shall  see  who  wins." 

"As  thou  wilt,"  said  Mary  ;  "only  to  the  brook  we  must 
not  run." 

"  No,"  said  Andres ;  "  but  there,  on  the  hill,  stands  the 
large  pear-tree,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  this.  I  shall  run 
by  the  left,  round  past  the  fir-ground  ;  thou  canst  try  it  by 
the  right  over  the  fields;  so  we  do  not  meet  till  we  get  up, 
and  then  we  shall  see  which  of  us  is  swifter." 

"  Done,"  cried   Mary,  and   began  to  run  ;  "  for  we  shall 


THE    ELVES. 


369 


not  mar  one  another  by  the  way,  and  my  father  says  it  is 
as  far  to  the  hill  by  that  side  of  the  Gypsies'  house  as  by 
this." 

Andres   had   already   started,  and   Mary,  turning  to  the 
right,  could  no  longer  see  him.     "  It  is  very  silly,"  said  she 
to  herself;  "I  have  only  to  take  heart,  and   run   along   the 
bridge,  past  the  hut,  and  through   the  yard,  and  I  shall  cer- 
tainly be  first."     She   was   already  standing   by   the   brook 
and  the  clump  of  firs.     "  Shall  I  ?     No  ;  it  is  too  frightful," 
said  she.     A  little   white   dog  was  standing  on  the  farther 
side,  and   barking  with  might  and   main.      In   her  terror, 
Mary   thought  the  dog  some   monster,  and    sprang    back. 
"  Fy  !  fy  ! "  said   she  ;  "  the  dolt  is  gone   half  way  by  this 
time  while  I  stand  here  considering."     The  little  dog  kept 
barking,  and,  as  she  looked  at  it  more  narrowly,  it  seemed 
no  longer  frightful,  but,  on  the  contrary,  quite  pretty  ;  it  had 
a  red  collar  round  its  neck,  with  a  glittering  bell  ;    and  as 
it  raised  its  head,  and  shook  itself  in  barking,  the  little  bell 
sounded  with  the  finest  tinkle.     "Well,  I  must  risk   it!" 
cried  she  ;  "  I  will  run  for  life  ;  quick,  quick,  I  am  through  ; 
certainly  to  Heaven,  they  cannot  eat  me  up  alive  in  half  a 
minute!"    And  with  this  the  gay,  courageous  little   Mary 
sprang  along  the  foot-bridge  ;  passed  the  dog,  which  ceased 
its   barking,  and   began  to  fawn  on  her  ;  and  in  a  moment 
she   was   standing   on  the  other  bank,  and  the  black  firs  all 
round  concealed  from  view  her  father's  house,  and  the  rest 
of  the  landscape. 

But  what  was  her  astonishment  when  here  !  The  love- 
liest, most  variegated  flower-garden  lay  round  her;  tulips, 
roses,  and  lilies  were  glittering  in  the  fairest  colors  ;  blue 
and  gold-red  butterflies  were  wavering  in  the  blossoms ; 
cages  of  shining  wire  were  hung  on  the  espaliers,  with 
many-colored  birds  in  them,  singing  beautiful  songs  ;  and 
children  in  short  white  frocks,  with  flowing  yellow  hair  and 


370  TIECK. 

brilliant  eyes,  were  frolicking  about ;  some  playing  with 
lambkins,  some  feeding  the  birds,  or  gathering  flowers,  and 
giving  them  to  one  another ;  some,  again,  were  eating 
cherries,  grapes,  and  ruddy  apricots.  No  hut  was  to  be 
seen  ;  but,  instead  of  it,  a  large,  fair  house,  with  a  brazen 
door  and  lofty  statues,  stood  glancing  in  the  middle  of  the 
space.  Mary  was  confounded  with  surprise,  and  knew  not 
what  to  think  ;  but,  not  being  bashful,  she  went  right  up  to 
the  first  of  the  children,  held  out  her  hand,  and  wished  the 
little  creature  good  even. 

"  Art  thou  come  to  visit  us,  then  ?  "  said  the  glittering 
child  ;  "  T  saw  thee  running,  playing  on  the  other  side,  but 
thou  wert  frightened  for  our  little  dog." 

"  So  you  are  not  gypsies  and  rogues,"  said  Mary,  "  as 
Andres  always  told  me  ?  He  is  a  stupid  thing,  and  talks  of 
much  he  does  not  understand." 

"  Stay  with  us,"  said  the  strange  little  girl ;  "  thou  wilt 
like  it  well." 

"  But  we  are  running  a  race." 

"  Thou  wilt  find  thy  comrade  soon  enough.  There,  take 
and  eat." 

Mary  ate,  and  found  the  fruit  more  sweet  than  any  she 
had  ever  tasted  in  her  life  before ;  and  Andres,  and  the  race, 
and  the  prohibition  of  her  parents,  were  entirely  forgotten. 

A  stately  woman,  in  a  shining  robe,  came  towards  them, 
and  asked  about  the  stranger  child.  "Fairest  lady,"  said 
Mary,  "  I  came  running  hither  by  chance,  and  now  they 
wish  to  keep  me." 

"  Thou  art  aware,  Zerina,"  said  the  lady,  "  that  she  can 
be  here  but  for  a  little  while  ;  besides,  thou  shouldst  have 
asked  my  leave." 

"I  thought,"  said  Zerina,  "when  I  saw  her  admitted 
across  the  bridge,  that  I  might  do  it ;  we  have  often  seen 
her  running  in  the  fields,  and  thou  thyself  hast  taken  pleas- 


THE    ELVES. 


371 


ure  in  her  lively  temper.     She  will   have   to   leave   us  soon 
enough." 

"  No,  I  will  stay  here,"  said  the  little  stranger;  "for 
here  it  is  so  beautiful,  and  here  I  shall  find  the  prettiest 
playthings,  and  store  of  berries  and  cherries  to  boot.  On 
the  other  side  it  is  not  half  so  grand." 

The  gold-robed  lady  went  away  with  a  smile  ;  and  many 
of  the  children  now  came  bounding  round  the  happy  Mary 
in  their  mirth,  and  twitched  her,  and  incited  her  to  dance  ; 
others  brought  her  lambs,  or  curious  playthings ;  others 
made  music  on  instruments,  and  sang  to  it. 

She  kept,  however,  by  the  playmate  who  had  first  met 
her  ;  for  Zerina  was  the  kindest  and  loveliest  of  them  all. 
Little  Mary  cried  and  cried  again  :  "  I  will  stay  with  you 
forever ;  I  will  stay  with  you,  and  you  shall  be  my  sisters ;" 
at  which  the  children  all  laughed,  and  embraced  her.  "  Now, 
we  shall  have  a  royal  sport,"  said  Zerina.  She  ran  into 
the  Palace,  and  returned  with  a  little  golden  box,  in  which 
lay  a  quantity  of  seeds,  like  glittering  dust.  She  lifted  of 
it  with  her  little  hand,  and  scattered  some  grains  on  the 
green  earth.  Instantly  the  grass  began  to  move,  as  in 
waves  ;  and,  after  a  few  moments,  bright  rose-bushes  started 
from  the  ground,  shot  rapidly  up,  and  budded  all  at  once, 
while  the  sweetest  perfume  filled  the  place.  Mary  also 
took  a  little  of  the  dust,  and,  having  scattered  it,  she  saw 
white  lilies,  and  the  most  variegated  pinks,  pushing  up.  At 
a  signal  from  Zerina,  the  flowers  disappeared,  and  others 
rose  in  their  room.  "  Now,"  said  Zerina,  "  look  for  some- 
thing greater."  She  laid  two  pineseeds  in  the  ground,  and 
stamped  them  in  sharply  with  her  foot.  Tv\to  green  bushes 
stood  before  them.  "  Grasp  me  fast,"  said  she  ;  and  Mary 
threw  her  arms  about  the  slender  form.  She  felt  herself 
borne  upwards;  for  the  trees  were  springing  under  them 
with  the  greatest  speed  ;  the  tall  pines   waved   to  and   fro, 


372 


TIECK. 


and  the  two  children  held  each  other  fast  embraced,  swing- 
ing this  way  and  that  in  the  red  clouds  of  the  twilight,  and 
kissed  each  other;  while  the  rest  were  climbing  up  and 
down  the  trunks  with  quick  dexterity,  pushing  and  teasing 
one  another  with  loud  laughter  when  they  met ;  if  any  one 
fell  down  in  the  press,  it  flew  through  the  air,  and  sank 
slowly  and  surely  to  the  ground.  At  length  Mary  was  be- 
ginning to  be  frightened  ;  and  the  other  little  child  sang  a 
few  loud  tones,  and  the  trees  again  sank  down,  and  set  them 
on  the  ground  as  gradually  as  they  had  lifted  them  before 
to  the  clouds. 

They  next  went  through  the  brazen  door  of  the  palace. 
Here  many  fair  women,  elderly  and  young,  were  sitting  in 
the  round  hall,  partaking  of  the  fairest  fruits,  and  listening 
to  glorious,  invisible  music.  In  the  vaulting  of  the  ceiling, 
palms,  flowers,  and  groves  stood  painted,  among  which  little 
figures  of  children  were  sporting  and  winding  in  every 
graceful  posture ;  and  with  the  tones  of  the  music,  the 
images  altered  and  glowed  with  the  most  burning  colors ; 
now  the  blue  and  green  were  sparkling  like  radiant  light, 
now  these  tints  faded  back  in  paleness,  the  purple  flamed 
up,  and  the  gold  took  fire;  and  then  the  naked  children 
seemed  to  be  alive  among  the  flower-garlands,  and  to  draw 
breath,  and  emit  it  through  their  ruby-colored  lips  ;  so  that 
by  fits  you  could  see  the  glance  of  their  little  white  teeth, 
and  the  lighting  up  of  their  azure  eyes. 

From  the  hall,  a  stair  of  brass  led  down  to  a  subterranean 
chamber.  Here  lay  much  gold  and  silver,  and  precious 
stones  of  every  hue  shone  out  between  them.  Strange 
vessels  stood  akmg  the  walls,  and  all  seemed  filled  with 
costly  things.  The  gold  was  worked  into  many  forms,  and 
glittered  with  the  friendliest  red.  Many  little  dwarfs  were 
busied  sorting  the  pieces  from  the  heap,  and  putting  them  in 
the  vessels  ;  others,  hunch-backed,  and   bandy-legged,  with 


THE     ELVES.  373 

long  red  noses,  were  tottering  slowly  along,  half-bent  to  the 
ground,  under  full  sacks,  which  they  bore  as  millers  do  their 
grain  ;  and,  with  much  panting,  shaking  out  the  gold-dust 
on  the  ground.  Then  they  darted  awkwardly  to  the  right 
and  left,  and  caught  the  rolling  balls  that  were  like  to  run 
away  ;  and  it  happened  now  and  then  that  one  in  his  eager- 
ness overset  the  other,  so  that  both  fell  heavily  and  clumsily 
to  the  ground.  They  made  angry  faces,  and  looked  as- 
kance, as  Mary  laughed  at  their  gestures  and  their  ugliness. 
Behind  them  sat  an  old,  crumpled  little  man,  whom  Zerina 
reverently  greeted  ;  he  thanked  her  with  a  grave  inclination 
of  his  head.  He  held  a  sceptre  in  his  hand,  and  wore  a 
crown  upon  his  brow,  and  all  the  other  dwarfs  appeared  to 
regard  him  as  their  master,  and  obey  his  nod. 

*'  What  more  wanted  ?  "  asked  he,  with  a  surly  voice, 
as  the  children  came  a  little  nearer.  Mary  was  afraid,  and 
did  not  speak  ;  but  her  companion  answered,  they  were  only 
come  to  look  about  them  in  the  chambers.  "  Still  your  old 
child's  tricks  !  "  replied  the  dwarf;  "will  there  never  be 
an  end  to  idleness? "  With  this,  he  turned  again  to  his  em- 
ployment, kept  his  people  weighing  and  sorting  the  ingots  ; 
some  he  sent  away  on  errands,  some  he  chid  with  angry 
tones. 

"  Who  is  the  gentleman  ?  "  said  Mary. 

"Our  Metal-Prince,"  replied  Zerina,  as  they  walked 
along. 

They  seemed  once  more  to  reach  the  open  air,  for  they 
were  standing  by  a  lake,  yet  no  sun  appeared,  and  they 
saw  no  sky  above  their  heads.  A  little  boat  received  them, 
and  Zerina  steered  it  diligently  forwards.  It  shot  rapidly 
along.  On  gaining  the  middle  of  the  lake,  the  stranger  saw 
that  multitudes  of  pipes,  channels,  and  brooks  were  spread- 
ing from  the  little  sea  in  every  direction.  "  These  waters 
to  the  right,"  said  Zerina,  M  flow   beneath   your  garden,  and 

vol.  i.  32 


374  TIECK. 

this  is  why  it  blooms  so  freshly  ;  by  the  other  side  we  get 
down  into  the  great  stream."  On  a  sudden,  out  of  all  the 
channels,  and  from  every  quarter  of  the  lake,  came  a  crowd 
of  little  children  swimming  up  ;  some  wore  garlands  of  sedge 
and  water-lily  ;  some  had  red  stems  of  coral,  others  were 
blowing  on  crooked  shells;  a  tumultuous  noise  echoed  mer- 
rily from  the  dark  shores  ;  among  the  children  might  be 
seen  the  fairest  women  sporting  in  the  waters,  and  often 
several  of  the  children  sprang  about  some  one  of  them,  and 
with  kisses  hung  upon  her  neck  and  shoulders.  All  saluted 
the  strangers ;  and  these  steered  onwards  through  the  revel- 
ry out  of  the  lake,  into  a  little  river,  which  grew  narrower 
and  narrower.  At  last  the  boat  came  aground.  The  strang- 
ers took  their  leave,  and  Zerina  knocked  against  the  cliff. 
This  opened  like  a  door,  and  a  female  form,  all  red,  assisted 
them  to  mount.  "  Are  you  all  brisk  here  ?  "  inquired  Ze- 
rina. "  They  are  just  at  work,"  replied  the  other,  "  and 
happy  as  they  could  wish  ;  indeed,  the  heat  is  very  pleas- 
ant." 

They  went  up  a  winding  stair,  and  on  a  sudden  Mary 
found  herself  in  a  most  resplendent  hall,  so  that,  as  she 
entered,  her  eyes  were  dazzled  by  the  radiance.  Flame- 
colored  tapestry  covered  the  walls  with  a  purple  glow  ;  and 
when  her  eye  had  grown  a  little  used  to  it,  the  stranger  saw, 
to  her  astonishment,  that  in  the  tapestry  there  were  figures 
moving  up  and  down  in  dancing  joyfulness ;  in  form  so 
beautiful,  and  of  so  fair  proportions,  that  nothing  could  be 
seen  more  graceful  ;  their  bodies  were  as  of  red  crystal,  so 
that  it  appeared  as  if  the  blood  were  visible  within  them, 
flowing  and  playing  in  its  courses.  They  smiled  on  the 
stranger,  and  saluted  her  with  various  bows;  but  as  Mary 
was  about  approaching  nearer  them,  Zerina  plucked  her 
sharply  back,  crying:  "Thou  wilt  burn  thyself,  my  little 
Mary,  for  the  whole  of  it  is  fire." 


THE    ELVES.  375 

Mary  felt  the  heat.  "  Why  do  the  pretty  creatures  not 
come  out,'"  said  she,  "  and  play  with  us?  " 

u  As  thou  livest  in  the  Air,"  replied  the  other,  "  so  are 
they  obliged  to  stay  continually  in  Fire,  and  would  faint  and 
languish  if  they  left  it.  Look  now,  how  glad  they  are,  how 
they  laugh  and  shout ;  those  down  below  spread  out  the  fire- 
floods  everywhere  beneath  the  earth,  and  thereby  the  flow- 
ers, and  fruits,  and  wine,  are  made  to  flourish  ;  these  red 
streams,  again,  are  to  run  beside  the  brooks  of  water;  and 
thus  the  fiery  creatures  are  kept  ever  busy  and  glad.  But 
for  thee  it  is  too  hot  here  ;  let  us  return  to  the  garden." 

In  the  garden  the  scene  had  changed  since  they  left  it. 
The  moonshine  was  lying  on  every  flower  ;  the  birds  were 
silent,  and  the  children  were  asleep  in  complicated  groups, 
among  the  green  groves.  Mary  and  her  friend,  however, 
did  not  feel  fatigue,  but  walked  about  in  the  warm  summer 
night,  in  abundant  talk  till  morning. 

When  the  day  dawned,  they  refreshed  themselves  on 
fruit  and  milk,  and  Mary  said  :  "  Suppose  we  go,  by  way 
of  change,  to  the  firs,  and  see  how  things  look  there  ?  " 

"  With  all  my  heart,"  replied  Zerina ;  "  thou  wilt  see 
our  watchmen,  too,  and  they  will  surely  please  thee  ;  they 
are  standing  up  among  the  trees  on  the  mound."  The  two 
proceeded  through  the  flower-garden  by  pleasant  groves, 
full  of  nightingales  ;  then  they  ascended  a  vine-hill ;  and  at 
last,  after  long  following  the  windings  of  a  clear  brook, 
arrived  at  the  firs,  and  the  height  which  bounded  the  do- 
main. "  How  does  it  come,"  said  Mary,  "  that  we  have  to 
walk  so  far  here,  when  without  the  circuit  is  so  narrow  ?  " 

"  I  know  not,"  said  her  friend  ;  "  but  so  it  is." 

They  mounted  to  the  dark  firs,  and  a  chill  wind  blew 
from  without  in  their  faces ;  a  haze  seemed  lying  far  and 
wide  over  the  landscape.  On  the  top  were  many  strange 
forms  standing;  with  mealy,  dusty  faces;  their   misshapen 


376 


TIECK. 


heads  not  unlike  those  of  while  owls  ;  they  were  clad  in 
folded  cloaks  of  shaggy  wool;  they  held  umbrellas  of  curious 
skins  stretched  out  above  them  ;  and  they  waved  and  fanned 
themselves  incessantly  with  large  bats'  wings,  which  flared 
out  curiously  beside  the  woollen  roquelaures.  "  I  could 
laugh,  yet  I  am  frightened,"  cried  Mary. 

"  These  are  our  good  trusty  watchmen,"  said  her  play- 
mate ;  "  they  stand  here  and  wave  their  fans,  that  cold 
anxiety  and  inexplicable  fear  may  fall  on  every  one  that 
attempts  to  approach  us.  They  are  covered  so,  because 
without  it  is  now  cold  and  rainy,  which  they  cannot  bear. 
But  snow,  or  wind,  or  cold  air,  never  reaches  down  to  us  ; 
here  is  an  everlasting  spring  and  summer ;  yet  if  these  poor 
people  on  the  top  were  not  frequently  relieved,  they  would 
certainly  perish." 

"  But  who  are  you,  then  ? "  said  Mary,  while  again 
descending  to  the  flowery  fragrance ;  "  or  have  you  no 
name  at  all  ?  " 

"  We  are  called  the  Elves,1'  replied  the  friendly  child  ; 
"  people  talk  about  us  in  the  Earth,  as  I  have  heard." 

They  now  perceived  a  mighty  bustle  on  the  green.  "  The 
fair  Bird  is  come  !"  cried  the  children  to  them  ;  all  hastened 
to  the  hall.  Here,  as  they  approached,  young  and  old  were 
crowding  over  the  threshold,  all  shouting  for  joy  ;  and  from 
within  resounded  a  triumphant  peal  of  music.  Having 
entered,  they  perceived  the  vast  circuit  filled  with  the  most 
varied  forms,  and  all  were  looking  upwards  to  a  large  Bird 
with  glancing  plumage,  that  was  sweeping  slowly  round  in 
the  dome,  and  in  its  stately  flight  describing  many  a  circle. 
The  music  sounded  more  gaily  than  before  ;  the  colors  and 
lights  alternated  more  rapidly.  At  last  the  music  ceased  ; 
and  the  Bird,  with  a  rustling  noise,  floated  down  upon  a 
glittering  crown  that  hung  hovering  in  air  under  the  high 
window  by   which   the  hall   was  lighted  from  above.     His 


THE    ELVES. 


377 


plumage  was  purple  and  green,  and  shining,  golden  streaks 
played  through  it ;  on  his  head  there  waved  a  diadem  of 
feathers,  so  resplendent  that  they  glanced  like  jewels.  His 
bill  was  red,  and  his  legs  of  a  glancing  blue.  As  he  moved, 
the  tints  gleamed  through  each  other,  and  the  eye  was 
charmed  with  their  radiance.  His  size  was  as  that  of  an 
eagle.  But  now  he  opened  his  glittering  beak ;  and  sweet- 
est melodies  came  pouring  from  his  moved  breast,  in  finer 
tones  than  the  lovesick  nightingale  gives  forth  ;  still  stronger 
rose  the  song,  and  streamed  like  floods  of  Light,  so  that  all, 
the  very  children  themselves,  were  moved  by  it  to  tears  of 
joy  and  rapture.  When  he  ceased,  all  bowed  before  him  ; 
he  again  flew  round  the  dome  in  circles,  then  darted  through 
the  door,  and  soared  into  the  light  heaven,  where  he  shone 
far  up  like  a  red  point,  and  then  soon  vanished  from  their 
eyes. 

"  Why  are   ye   all   so   glad  ?  "    inquired   Mary,  bending 
to  her  fair  playmate,  who  seemed  smaller  than  yesterday. 

"  The  King  is  coming !  "  said  the  little  one  ;  "  many  of 
us  have  never  seen  him,  and  whithersoever  he  turns  his 
face,  there  is  happiness  and  mirth  ;  we  have  long  looked  for 
him,  more  anxiously  than  you  look  for  spring  when  winter 
lingers  with  you  ;  and  now  he  has  announced,  by  his  fair 
herald,  that  he  is  at  hand.  This  wise  and  glorious  Bird, 
that  has  been  sent  to  us  by  the  King,  is  called  Phcenix ;  he 
dwells  far  off  in  Arabia,  on  a  tree,  which  there  is  no  other 
that  resembles  on  Earth,  as  in  like  manner  there  is  no 
second  Phcenix.  When  he  feels  himself  grown  old,  he 
builds  a  pile  of  balm  and  incense,  kindles  it,  and  dies  sing- 
ing ;  and  then  from  the  fragrant  ashes  soars  up  the  renewed 
Phcenix  with  unlessened  beauty.  It  is  seldom  he  so  wings 
his  course  that  men  behold  him  ;  and  when  once  in  centuries 
this  does  occur,  they  note  it  in  their  annals,  and  expect 
32* 


378 


TIF.CK. 


remarkable  events.     But   now,  my  friend,  thou   and  I  must 
part ;  for  the  sight  of  the  King  is  not  permitted  thee.'1 

Then  the   lady  with   the   golden  robe  came   through  the 
throng,  and  beckoning  Mary  to   her,  led  her  into  a  sequest- 
ered   walk.     "  Thou   must   leave    us,   my  dear  child,"  said 
she ;  "  the  King  is  to   hold  his  court  here   for  twenty  years, 
perhaps  longer  ;  and   fruitfulness  and   blessings  will  spread 
far  over  the  land,  but  chiefly  here   beside  us  ;  all  the  brooks 
and  rivulets  will   become    more   bountiful,  all   the  fields  and 
gardens  richer,  the  wine  more  generous,  the  meadows  more 
fertile,   and  the   woods  more   fresh  and  green  ;  a  milder  air 
will  blow,  no  hail  shall   hurt,  no  flood  shall  threaten.     Take 
this  ring,  and  think  of  us  ;  but  beware  of  telling  any  one  of 
our  existence  ;  or   we   must  fly   this   land,  and  thou  and  all 
around  will  lose  the  happiness  and  blessing  of  our  neighbor- 
hood.    Once  more,  kiss  thy  playmate,  and  farewell."    They 
issued   from   the   walk  ;  Zerina  wept,   Mary  stooped  to  em- 
brace her,  and  they  parted.    Already  she  was  on  the  narrow- 
bridge  ;  the  cold  air  was  blowing  on  her  back  from  the  firs  ; 
the  little  dog  barked   with  all  its   might,  and   rang  its  little 
bell ;  she  looked  round,  then  hastened  over,  for  the  darkness 
of  the  firs,  the   bleakness  of  the  ruined  huts,  the  shadows  of 
the  twilight,  were  filling  her  with  terror. 

"  What  a  night  my  parents  must  have  had  on  my  ac- 
count !  "  said  she  within  herself,  as  she  stept  on  the  green  ; 
"and  I  dare  not  tell  them  where  I  have  been,  or  what 
wonders  I  have  witnessed,  nor  indeed  would  they  believe 
me."  Two  men  passing  by  saluted  her,  aud  as  they  went 
along,  she  heard  them  say :  "  What  a  pretty  girl  ;  where 
can  she  come  from?"  With  quickened  steps  she  ap- 
proached the  house ;  but  the  trees,  which  were  hanging  last 
night  loaded  with  fruit,  were  now  standing  dry  and  leafless  ; 
the  house  was  differently  painted,  and  a  new  barn  had  been 
built   beside  it.     Mary  was   amazed,  and  thought  she  must 


THE     ELVES. 


379 


be  dreaming.  In  this  perplexity  she  opened  the  door  ;  and 
behind  ihe  table  sat  her  father,  between  an  unknown  woman 
and  a  stranger  youth.  "  Good  God  !  Father,"  cried  she, 
"  where  is  my  mother  ?  " 

"  Thy  mother !  "  said  the  woman,  with  a  forecasting  tone, 
and  sprang  towards  her.  "  Ha,  thou  surely  canst  not  —  Yes, 
indeed,  indeed  thou  art  my  lost,  long-lost,  dear,  only  Mary  !  " 
She  had  recognized  her  by  a  little  brown  mole  beneath  the 
chin,  as  well  as  by  her  eyes  and  shape.  All  embraced  her, 
all  were  moved  with  joy,  and  the  parents  wept.  Mary  was 
astonished  that  she  almost  reached  to  her  father's  stature  ; 
and  she  could  not  understand  how  her  mother  had  become 
so  changed  and  faded  ;  she  asked  the  name  of  the  stranger 
youth.  "It  is  our  neighbor's  Andres,"  said  Martin.  "  How 
comest  thou  to  us  again,  so  unexpectedly,  after  seven  long 
years  ?  Where  hast  thou  been  ?  Why  didst  thou  never 
send  us  tidings  of  thee  ?  " 

"  Seven  years ! "  said  Mary,  and  could  not  order  her 
ideas  and  recollections.     "  Seven  whole  years  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Andres,laughing  and  shaking  her  trust- 
fully by  the  hand  ;  "  I  have  won  the  race,  good  Mary  ;  I 
was  at  the  pear-tree  and  back  again  seven  years  ago,  and 
thou,  sluggish  creature,  art  but  just  returned  !  " 

They  again  asked,  they  pressed  her  ;  but  remembering 
her  instruction,  she  could  answer  nothing.  It  was  they 
themselves  chiefly  that,  by  degrees,  shaped  a  story  for  her  ; 
how,  having  lost  her  way,  she  had  been  taken  up  by  a 
coach,  and  carried  to  a  strange,  remote  part,  where  she  could 
not  give  the  people  any  notion  of  her  parents1  residence  : 
how  she  was  conducted  to  a  distant  town,  where  certain 
worthy  persons  brought  her  up,  and  loved  her  ;  how  they 
had  lately  died,  and  at  length  she  had  recollected  her  birth- 
place, and  so  returned.  "  No  matter  how  it  is  !  "  exclaimed 
her  mother  ;  "  enough,  that  we  have  thee  again,  my  little 
daughter,  my  own,  my  all  !  " 


380  TIECK. 

Andres  waited  supper,  and  Mary  could  not  be  at  home 
in  any  thing  she  saw.  The  house  seemed  small  and  dark  ; 
she  felt  astonished  at  her  dress,  which  was  clean  and  simple, 
but  appeared  quite  foreign  ;  she  looked  at  the  ring  on  her 
finger,  and  the  gold  of  it  glittered  strangely,  inclosing  a  stone 
of  burning  red.  To  her  father's  question,  she  replied  that 
the  ring  also  was  a  present  from  her  benefactors. 

She  was  glad  when  the  hour  of  sleep  arrived,  and  she 
hastened  to  her  bed.  Next  morning  she  felt  much  more 
collected  ;  she  had  now  arranged  her  thoughts  a  little,  and 
could  better  stand  the  questions  of  the  people  in  the  village, 
all  of  whom  came  in  to  bid  her  welcome.  Andres  was 
there  too  with  the  earliest,  active,  glad,  and  serviceable 
beyond  all  others.  The  blooming  maiden  of  fifteen  had 
made  a  deep  impression  on  him  ;  he  had  passed  a  sleepless 
night.  The  people  of  the  castle  likewise  sent  for  Mary,  and 
she  had  once  more  to  tell  her  story  to  them,  which  was  now 
grown  quite  familiar  to  her.  The  old  Count  and  his  Lady 
were  surprised  at  her  good  breeding  ;  she  was  modest,  but 
not  embarrassed;  she  made  answer  courteously  in  good 
phrases  to  all  their  questions  ;  all  fear  of  noble  persons  and 
their  equipage  had  passed  away  from  her ;  for  when  she 
measured  these  halls  and  forms  by  the  wonders  and  the 
high  beauty  she  had  seen  with  the  Elves  in  their  hidden 
abode,  this  earthly  splendor  seemed  but  dim  to  her,  the  pre 
sence  of  men  was  almost  mean.  The  young  lords  were 
charmed  with  her  beauty. 

It  was  now  February.  The  trees  were  budding  earlier 
than  usual  ;  the  nightingale  had  never  come  so  soon ;  the 
spring  rose  fairer  in  the  land  than  the  oldest  men  could 
recollect  it.  In  every  quarter,  little  brooks  gushed  out  to 
irrigate  the  pastures  and  meadows  ;  the  hills  seemed  heav- 
ing, the  vines  rose  higher  and  higher,  the  fruit-trees  blos- 
somed as  they  had    never  done  ;  and    a  swelling,  fragrant 


THE     ELVES. 


381 


blessedness  hung  suspended  heavily  in  rosy  clouds  over  the 
scene.  All  prospered  beyond  expectation  ;  no  rude  day,  no 
tempest  injured  the  fruits;  the  wine  flowed  blushing  in 
immense  grapes;  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  place  felt 
astonished,  and  were  captivated  as  in  a  sweet  dream.  The 
next  year  was  like  its.  forerunner;  but  men  had  now  be- 
come accustomed  to  the  marvellous.  In  autumn,  Mary 
yielded  to  the  pressing  entreaties  of  Andres  and  her 
parents  ;  she  was  betrothed  to  him,  and  in  winter  they  were 
married. 

She  often  thought  with  inward  longing  of  her  residence 
behind  the  fir-trees;  she  continued  serious  and  still.  Beauti- 
ful as  all  that  lay  around  her  was,  she  knew  of  something 
yet  more  beautiful;  and  from  the  remembrance  of  this,  a 
faint  regret  attuned  her  nature  to  soft  melancholy.  It  smote 
her  painfully  when  her  father  and  mother  talked  about  the 
gypsies  and  vagabonds  that  dwelt  in  the  dark  spot  of 
ground.  Often  she  was  on  the  point  of  speaking  out  in 
defence  of  those  good  beings,  whom  she  knew  to  be  the 
benefactors  of  the  land  ;  especially  to  Andres,  who  appeared 
to  take  delight  in  zealously  abusing  them  ;  yet  still  she 
repressed  the  word  that  was  struggling  to  escape  her  bosom. 
So  passed  this  year;  in  the  next,  she  was  solaced  by  a 
little  daughter,  whom  she  named  Elfrida,  thinking  of  the 
designation  of  her  friendly  Elves. 

The  young  people  lived  with  Martin  and  Brigitta,  the 
house  being  large  enough  for  all ;  and  helped  their  parents 
in  conducting  their  now  extended  husbandry.  The  little 
Elfrida  soon  displayed  peculiar  faculties  and  gifts  ;  for  she 
could  walk  at  a  very  early  age,  and  could  speak  perfectly 
before  she  was  a  twelvemonth  old  ;  and  after  some  few 
years  she  had  become  so  wise  and  clever,  and  of  such  won- 
drous beauty,  that  all  people  regarded  her  with  astonish- 
ment ;  and   her  mother  could  not  keep  away  the  thought 


382  TIECK. 

that  her  child  resembled  one  of  those  shining  little  ones  in 
the  space  behind  the  Firs.  Elfrida  cared  not  to  be  with 
other  children ;  but  seemed  to  avoid,  with  a  sort  of  horror, 
their  tumultuous  amusements  ;  and  liked  best  to  be  alone. 
She  would  then  retire  into  a  corner  of  the  garden,  and  read, 
or  work  diligently  with  her  needle  ;  often  also  you  might 
see  her  silting,  as  if  deep  sunk  in  thought ;  or  violently 
walking  up  and  down  the  alleys,  speaking  to  herself.  Her 
parents  readily  allowed  her  to  have  her  will  in  these  things, 
for  she  was  healthy,  and  waxed  apace  ;  only  her  strange, 
sagacious  answers  and  observations  often  made  them  anx- 
ious. "  Such  wise  children  do  not  grow  to  age,"  her  grand- 
mother, Brigitta,  many  times  observed  ;  "  they  are  too  good 
for  this  world  ;  the  child,  besides,  is  beautiful  beyond  nature, 
and  will  never  find  its  proper  place  on  Earth." 

The  little  girl  had  this  peculiarity,  that  she  was  very  loath 
to  let  herself  be  served  by  any  one,  but  endeavored  to  do 
everything  herself.  She  was  almost  the  earliest  riser  in 
the  house ;  she  washed  herself  carefully,  and  dressed  with- 
out assistance  ;  at  night  she  was  equally  careful  ;  she  took 
special  heed  to  pack  up  her  clothes  and  washes  with  her 
own  hands,  allowing  no  one,  not  even  her  mother,  to  med- 
dle with  her  articles.  The  mother  humored  her  in  this 
caprice,  not  thinking  it  of  any  consequence.  But  what  was 
her  astonishment,  when  happening  one  holiday  to  insist, 
regardless  of  Elfrida's  tears  and  screams,  on  dressing  her 
out  for  a  visit  to  the  castle,  she  found  upon  her  breast, 
suspended  by  a  string,  a  piece  of  gold  of  a  strange  form, 
which  she  directly  recognized  as  one  of  that  sort  she  had 
seen  in  such  abundance  in  the  subterranean  vault !  The 
little  thing  was  greatly  frightened  ;  and  at  last  confessed 
that  she  had  found  it  in  the  garden,  and  as  she  liked  it 
much,  had  kept  it  carefully  ;  she  at  the  same  time  prayed 
so  earnestly  and   pressingly  to  have  it  back,  that  Mary  fas- 


THE    ELVES.  383 

tened  it  again  on  its  former  place,  and,  full  of  thoughts, 
went  out  with  her  in  silence  to  the  castle. 

Sidewards  from  the  farm-house  lay  some  offices  for  the 
storing  of  produce  and  implements  ;  and  behind  these  there 
was  a  little  green,  with  an  old  grove,  now  visited  by  no  one, 
as,  from  the  new  arrangement  of  the  buildings,  it  lay  too 
far  from  the  garden.  In  this  solitude  Elfrida  delighted 
most ;  and  it  occurred  to  nobody  to  interrupt  her  here,  so 
that  frequently  her  parents  did  not  see  her  for  half  a  day. 
One  afternoon  her  mother  chanced  to  be  in  these  buildings, 
seeking  for  some  lost  article  among  the  lumber;  and  she 
noticed  that  a  beam  of  light  was  coming  in  through  a  chink 
in  the  wall.  She  took  a  thought  of  looking  through  this 
aperture,  and  seeing  what  her  child  was  busied  with  ;  and 
it  happened  that  a  stone  was  lying  loose,  and  could  be 
pushed  aside,  so  that  she  obtained  a  view  right  into  the 
grove.  Elfrida  was  sitting  there  on  a  little  bench,  and 
beside  her  the  well-known  Zerina ;  and  the  children  were 
playing,  and  amusing  one  another,  in  the  kindliest  unity. 
The  Elf  embraced  her  beautiful  companion,  and  said  mourn- 
fully :  "Ah  !  dear  little  creature,  as  I  sport  with  thee,  so 
have  I  sported  with  thy  mother,  when  she  was  a  child  ;  but 
you  mortals  so  soon  grow  tall  and  thoughtful  !  It  is  very 
hard  ;  wert  thou  but  to  be  a  child  as  long  as  I !  " 

"Willingly  would  I  do  it,"  said  Elfrida;  "but  they  all 
say,  I  shall  come  to  sense,  and  give  over  playing  altogether  ; 
for  I  have  great  gifts,  as  they  think,  for  growing  wise.  Ah  ! 
and  then  I  shall  see  thee  no  more,  thou  dear  Zerina  !  Yet 
it  is  with  us  as  with  the  fruit-tree  flowers ;  how  glorious  the 
blossoming  apple-tree,  with  its  red  bursting  buds  !  It  looks 
so  stately  and  broad  ;  and  every  one  that  passes  under  it 
thinks  surely  something  great  will  come  of  it;  then  the  sun 
grows  hot,  and  the  buds  come  joyfully  forth  ;  but  the  wicked 
kernel  is  already  there,  which   pushes  off  and  casts   away 


384  ,  TIECK. 

the  fair  flower's  dress ;  and  now,  in  pain  and  waxing,  it  can 
do  nothing  more,  but  must  grow  to  fruit  in  harvest.  An 
apple,  to  be  sure,  is  pretty  and  refreshing;  yet  nothing  to 
the  blossom  of  spring.  So  is  it  also  with  us  mortals;  I  am 
not  glad  in  the  least  at  growing  to  be  a  tall  girl.  Ah  !  could 
I  but  once  visit  you  !*' 

"Since  the  King  is  with  us,"  said  Zerina,  "  it  is  quite 
impossible  ;  but  1  will  come  to  thee,  my  darling,  often, 
often,  and  none  shall  see  me  either  here  or  there.  I  will 
pass  invisible  through  the  air,  or  fly  over  to  thee  like  a  bird. 
Oh  !  we  will  be  much,  much  together,  while  thou  art  still 
little.     What  can  I  do  to  please  thee  ?  " 

"  Thou  must  like  me  very  dearly,"  said  Elfrida,  "  as 
I  like  thee  in  my  heart ;  but  come,  let  us  make  another 
rose." 

Zerina  took  the  well-known  box  from  her  bosom,  threw 
two  grains  from  it  on  the  ground  ;  and  instantly  a  green 
bush  stood  before  them,  with  two  deep-red  roses,  bending 
their  heads,  as  if  to  kiss  each  other.  The  children  plucked 
them  smiling,  and  the  bush  disappeared.  "O  that  it  would 
not  die  so  soon  !"  said  Elfrida  ;  "this  red  child,  this  wonder 
of  the  Earth!" 

"Give  it  me  here,"  said  the  little  Elf;  then  breathed 
thrice  upon  the  budding  rose,  and  kissed  it  thrice.  "  Now," 
said  she,  giving  back  the  rose,  "  it  will  continue  fresh  and 
blooming  till  winter." 

"  I  will  keep  'it,"  said  Elfrida,  "  as  an  image  of  thee  ;  I 
will  guard  it  in  my  little  room,  and  kiss  it  night  and  morn- 
ing, as  if  it  were  thyself." 

"  The  sun  is  setting,"  said  the  other,  "  I  must  home." 
They  embraced  again,  and  Zerina  vanished. 

In  the  evening,  Mary  clasped  her  child  to  her  breast, 
with  a  feeling  of  alarm  and  veneration.  She  henceforth 
allowed  the  good  little  girl  more  liberty  than  formerly  ;  and 


THE    ELVES. 


385 


often  calmed  her  husband,  when  he  came  to  search  for  the 
child  ;  which  for  some  time  he  was  wont  to  do,  as  her 
retiredness  did  not  please  him,  and  he  feared,  that,  in  the 
end,  it  might  make  her  silly,  or  even  pervert  her  understand- 
ing. The  mother  often  glided  to  the  chink  ;  and  almost 
always  found  the  bright  Elf  beside  her  child,  employed  in 
sport,  or  in  earnest  conversation. 

"  VVouldst  thou  like  to  fly  ?  "  inquired  Zerina  once. 

"  Oh,  well  !  How  well  !  "  replied  Elfrida  ;  and  the  fairy 
clasped  her  mortal  playmate  in  her  arms,  and  mounted  with 
her  from  the  ground,  till  they  hovered  above  the  grove. 
The  mother,  in  alarm,  forgot  herself,  and  pushed  out  her 
head  in  terror  to  look  after  them  ;  when  Zerina,  from  the 
air,  held  up  her  finger,  and  threatened  yet  smiled  ;  then 
descended  with  the  child,  embraced  her,  and  disappeared. 
After  this,  it.  happened  more  than  once  that  Mary  was  ob- 
served by  her ;  and  every  time,  the  shining  little  creature 
shook  her  head,  or  threatened,  yet  with  friendly  looks. 

Often  in  disputing  with  her  husband,  Mary  had  said  in 
her  zeal  :  "  Thou  doest  injustice  to  the  poor  people  in  the 
hut.n  But  when  Andres  pressed  her  to  explain  why  she 
differed  in  opinion  from  the  whole  village,  nay,  from  his 
Lordship  himself;  and  how  she  could  understand  it  better 
than  the  whole  of  them,  she  still  broke  off  embarrassed, 
and  became  silent.  One  day,  after  dinner,  Andres  nrew 
more  violent  than  ever;  and  maintained,  that,  by  one  means 
or  another,  the  crew  must  be  packed  away,  as  a  nuisance 
to  the  country  ;  when  his  wife,  in  anger,  said  to  him : 
"  Hush  !  for  they  are  benefactors  to  thee  and  to  every  one 
of  us." 

"  Benefactors ! "  cried  the  other,  in  astonishment  ; 
"  these  rogues  and  vagabonds  !  " 

In  her  indignation,  she  was  now  at  last  tempted  to  relate 
to  him,  under   promise  of  the   strictest  secrecy,  the   history 

vol.  i.  33 


386 


TIECK. 


of  her  youth  ;  and  as  Andres  at  every  word  grew  more  in- 
credulous, and  shook  his  head  in  mockery,  she  took  him  by 
the  hand,  and  led  him  to  the  chink  ;  where,  to  his  amaze- 
ment, he  beheld  the  glittering  Elf  sporting  with  his  child, 
and  caressing  her  in  the  grove.  He  knew  not  what  to  say  ; 
an  exclamation  of  astonishment  escaped  him,  and  Zerina 
raised  her  eyes.  On  the  instant  she  grew  pale,  and  trem- 
bled violently  ;  not  with  friendly,  but  with  indignant  looks, 
she  made  the  sign  of  threatening,  and  then  said  to  Elfrida  : 
"  Thou  canst  not  help  it,  dearest  heart ;  but  they  will  never 
learn  sense,  wise  as  they  believe  themselves."  She  em- 
braced the  little  one  with  stormy  haste  ;  and  then,  in  the 
shape  of  a  raven,  flew  with  hoarse  cries  over  the  garden, 
towards  the  Firs. 

In  the  evening,  the  little  one  was  very  still,  she  kissed 
her  rose  with  tears ;  Mary  felt  depressed  and  frightened  ; 
Andres  scarcely  spoke.  It  grew  dark.  Suddenly  there 
went,  a  rustling  through  the  trees  ;  birds  flew  to  and  fro  with 
wild  screaming,  thunder  was  heard  to  roll,  the  Earth  shook, 
and  tones  of  lamentation  moaned  in  the  air.  Andres  and 
his  wife  had  not  courage  to  rise ;  they  shrouded  themselves 
within  the  curtains,  and  with  fear  and  trembling  awaited  the 
day.  Towards  morning  it  grew  calmer  ;  and  all  was  silent 
when  the  Sun,  with  his  cheerful  light,  rose  over  the  wood. 

Andres  dressed  himself,  and  Mary  now  observed  that  the 
stone  of  the  ring  upon  her  finger  had  become  quite  pale. 
On  opening  the  door,  the  sun  shone  clear  on  their  faces,  but 
the  scene  around  them  they  could  scarcely  recognize.  The 
freshness  of  the  wood  was  gone  ;  the  hills  were  shrunk,  the 
brooks  were  flowing  languidly  with  scanty  streams,  the  sky 
seemed  grey  ;  and  when  you  turned  to  the  Firs,  they  were 
standing  there  no  darker  or  more  dreary  than  the  other  trees. 
The  huts  behind  them  were  no  longer  frightful ;  and  several 
inhabitants  of  the  village  came  and   told  about  the   fearful 


THE    ELVES. 


387 


night,  and  how  they  had  been  across  the  spot  where  the 
gypsies  had  lived  ;  how  these  people  must  have  left  the 
place  at  last,  for  their  huts  were  standing  empty,  and  within 
had  quite  a  common  look,  just  like  the  dwellings  of  other 
poor  people ;  some  of  their  household  gear  was  left  behind. 

Elfrida  in  secret  said  to  her  mother :  "  I  could  not  sleep 
last  night ;  and  in  my  fright  at  the  noise,  I  was  praying 
from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  when  the  door  suddenly 
opened,  and  my  playmate  entered  to  take  leave  of  me. 
She  had  a  travelling-pouch  slung  round  her,  a  hat  on  her 
head,  and  a  large  staff  in  her  hand.  She  was  very  angry 
at  thee  ;  since  on  thy  account  she  had  now  to  suffer  the 
severest  and  most  painful  punishments,  as  she  had  always 
been  so  fond  of  thee  ;  for  all  of  them,  she  said,  were  very 
loath  to  leave  this  quarter." 

Mary  forbade  her  to  speak  of  this  ;  and  now  the  ferry- 
man came  across  the  river,  and  told  them  new  wonders. 
As  it  was  growing  dark,  a  stranger  man  of  large  size  had 
come  to  him,  and  hired  his  boat  till  sunrise ;  and  with  this 
condition,  that  the  boatman  should  remain  quiet  in  his  house, 
at  least  should  not  cross  the  threshold  of  his  door.  "  I  was 
frightened,"  continued  the  old  man,  "and  the  strange  bar- 
gain would  not  let  me  sleep.  I  slipped  softly  to 'the  window, 
and  looked  towards  the  river.  Great  clouds  were  driving 
restlessly  through  the  sky,  and  the  distant  woods  were  rust- 
ling fearfully  ;  it  was  as  if  my  cottage  shook,  and  moans 
and  lamentations  glided  round  it.  On  a  sudden,  I  perceived 
a  white  streaming  light,  that  grew  broader  and  broader,  like 
many  thousands  of  falling  stars  ;  sparkling  and  waving,  it 
proceeded  forward  from  the  dark  Firground,  moved  over  the 
fields,  and  spread  itself  along  towards  the  river.  Then  I 
heard  a  trampling,  a  jingling,  a  bustling,  and  rushing,  nearer 
and  nearer  ;  it  went  forwards  to  my  boat,  and  all  stept  into 
it,  men  and  women,  as  it  seemed,  and  children  ;  and  the 


38S 


TIKCK 


tall  stranger  ferried  them  over.  In  the  river  were  by  the 
boat  swimming  many  thousands  of  glittering  forms;  in  the 
air  white  clouds  and  lights  were  wavering;  ;  and  all  lamented 
and  bewailed  that  they  must  travel  forth  so  far,  far  away, 
and  leave  their  beloved  dwelling.  The  noise  of  the  rudder 
and  the  water  creaked  and  gurgled  between  whiles,  and 
then  suddenly  there  would  be  silence.  Many  a  time  the 
boat  landed,  and  went  back,  and  was  again  laden  ;  many 
heavy  casks,  loo,  they  took  along  with  them,  which  multi- 
tudes of  horrid-looking  little  fellows  carried  and  rolled ; 
whether  they  were  devils  or  goblins,  Heaven  only  knows. 
Then  came,  in  waving  brightness,  a  stately  freight  ;  it  seem- 
ed an  old  man,  mounted  on  a  small  white  horse,  and  all 
were  crowding  round  him.  I  saw  nothing  of  the  horse  but 
its  head  ;  for  the  rest  of  it  was  covered  with  costly  glitter- 
ing cloths  and  trappings ;  on  his  brow  the  old  man  had  a 
crown,  so  bright,  that,  as  he  came  across,  I  thought  the  sun 
was  rising  there,  and  the  redness  of  the  dawn  glimmering 
in  my  eyes.  Thus  it  went  on  all  night  ;  I  at  last  fell  asleep 
in  the  tumult,  half  in  joy,  half  in  terror.  Tn  the  morn- 
ing all  was  still  ;  but  the  river  is,  as  it  were,  run  off,  and  I 
know  not  how  I  am  to  steer  my  boat  in  it  now." 

The  same  year  there  came  a  blight ;  the  woods  died  away, 
the  springs  ran  dry;  and  the  scene,  which  had  once  been 
the  joy  of  every  traveller.,  was  in  autumn  standing  waste, 
naked,  and  bald  ;  scarcely  showing  here  and  there,  in  the 
sea  of  sand,  a  spot  or  two  where  grass,  with  a  dingy  green- 
ness, still  grew  up.  The  fruit-trees  all  withered,  the  vines 
faded  away,  and  the  aspect  of  the  place  became  so  melan- 
choly, that  the  Count,  with  his  people,  next  year  left  the 
castle,  which  in  time  decayed  and  fell  to  ruins. 

Elfrida  gazed  on  her  rose  day  and  night  with  deep  long- 
ing, and  thought  of  her  kind  playmate;  and  as  it  drooped 
and  withered,  so  did  she  also  hang   her  head  ;  and  before 


THE    ELVES. 


389 


the  spring,  the  little  maiden  had  herself  faded  away.  Mary 
often  stood  upon  the  spot  before  the  hut,  and  wept  for  the 
happiness  that  had  departed.  She  wasted  herself  away  like 
her  child,  and  in  a  few  years  she  too  was  gone.  Old  Mar- 
tin, with  his  son-in-law,  returned  to  the  quarter  where  he 
had  lived  before. 


V. 
THE    GOBLET 


The  forenoon  bells  were  sounding  from  the  high  cathe- 
dral. Over  the  wide  square  in  front  of  it  were  men  and 
women  walking  to  and  fro,  carriages  rolling  along,  and 
priests  proceeding  to  their  various  churches.  Ferdinand 
was  standing  on  the  broad  stair,  with  Ins  eyes  over  the  mul- 
titude, looking  at  them  as  they  came  up  to  attend  the  service. 
The  sunshine  glittered  on  the  white  stones,  all  were  seeking 
shelter  from  the  heat.  He  alone  had  stood  for  a  long  time 
leaning  on  a  pillar,  amid  the  burning  beams,  without  regard- 
ing them ;  for  he  was  lost  in  the  remembrances  which 
mounted  up  within  his  mind.  He  was  calling  back  his  by- 
gone life  ;  and  inspiring  his  soul  with  the  feeling  which  had 
penetrated  all  his  being,  and  swallowed  up  every  other 
wish  in  itself.  At  the  same  hour,  in  the  past  year,  had  he 
been  standing  here,  looking  at  the  women  and  the  maidens 
coming  to  mass;  with  indifferent  heart,  and  smiling  face,  he 
had  viewed  the  variegated  procession  ;  many  a  kind  look  had 
roguishly  met  his,  and  many  a  virgin  cheek  had  blushed  ; 
his  busy  eye  had  observed  the  pretty  feet,  how  they  mounted 
the  steps,  and  how  the  wavering  robe  fell  more  or  less  aside, 
to  let  the  dainty  little  ancles  come  to  sight. 

Then  a  youthful  form  had  crossed  the  square  ;  clad  in  black  ; 
slender,  and  of  noble  mien,  her  eyes  modestly  cast  down 
before  her,  carelessly  she  hovered  up  the  steps  with  lovely 
grace  ;  the  silken  robe  lay  round  that  fairest  of  forms,  and 


THE    GOBLET.  391 

rocked  itself  as  in  music  about  the  moving  limbs;  she  was 
mounting  the  highest  step,  when  by  chance  she  raised  her 
head,  and  struck  his  eye  with  a  ray  of  the  purest  azure. 
He  was  pierced  as  if  by  lightning.  Her  foot  caught  the  robe  ; 
and  quickly  as  he  darted  towards  her,  he  could  not  prevent 
her  having,  for  a  moment,  in  the  most  charming  posture, 
lain  kneeling  at  his  feet.  He  raised  her;  she  did  not  look 
at  him,  she  was  all  one  blush  ;  nor  did  she  answer  his  in- 
quiry whether  she  was  hurt.  He  followed  her  into  the 
church  ;  his  soul  saw  nothing  but  the  image  of  that  form 
kneeling  before  him,  and  that  loveliest  of  bosoms  bent 
towards  him.  Next  day  he  visited  the  threshold  of  the 
church  again  ;  for  him  that  spot  was  consecrated  ground. 
He  had  been  intending  to  pursue  his  travels,  his  friends 
were  expecting  him  impatiently  at  home ;  but  from  hence- 
forth his  native  country  was  here,  his  heart  and  its  wishes 
were  inverted.  He  saw  her  often,  she  did  not  shun  him  ; 
yet  it  was  but  for  a  few  separate  and  stolen  moments ;  for 
her  wealthy  family  observed  her  strictly,  and  still  more  a 
powerful  and  jealous  bridegroom.  They  mutually  confessed 
their  love,  but  knew  not  what  to  do  ;  for  he  was  a  stranger, 
and  could  offer  his  beloved  no  such  splendid  fortune  as  she 
was  entitled  to  expect.  He  now  felt  his  poverty  ;  yet  when 
he  reflected  on  his  former  way  of  life,  it  seemed  to  him 
that  he  was  passing  rich ;  for  his  existence  was  rendered 
holy,  his  heart  floated  forever  in  the  fairest  emotion  ;  Nature 
was  now  become  his  friend,  and  her  beauty  lay  revealed  to 
him  ;  he  felt  himself  no  longer  alien  from  worship  and  re- 
ligion ;  and  he  now  crossed  this  threshold,  and  the  myste- 
rious dimness  of  the  temple,  with  far  other  feelings  than  in 
former  days  of  levity.  He  withdrew  from  his  acquaint- 
ances, and  lived  only  to  love.  When  he  walked  through  her 
street,  and  saw  her  at  the  window,  he  was  happy  for  the  day. 
He  had  often  spoken  to  her  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening  ;  her 


392  TIECK. 

garden  was  adjacent  to  a  friend's,  who,  however,  did  not 
know  his  secret.     Thus  a  year  had  passed  away. 

All  these  scenes  of  his  new  existence  again  moved 
through  his  remembrance.  He  raised  his  eyes ;  that  noble 
form  was  even  then  gliding  over  the  square  ;  she  shone  out 
of  the  confused  multitude  like  a  sun.  A  lovely  music 
sounded  in  his  longing  heart ;  and  as  she  approached,  he 
retired  into  the  church.  He  offered  her  the  holy  water ;  her 
white  fingers  trembled  as  they  touched  his,  she  bowed  with 
grateful  kindness.  He  followed  her,  and  knelt  down  near 
her.  His  whole  heart  was  melting  in  sadness  and  love  ;  it 
seemed  to  him  as  if,  from  the  wounds  of  longing,  his  being 
were  bleeding  away  in  fervent  prayers ;  every  word  of  the 
priest  went  through  him,  every  tone  of  the  music  poured 
new  devotion  into  his  bosom  ;  his  lips  quivered,  as  the  fair 
maiden  pressed  the  crucifix  of  her  rosary  to  her  ruby 
mouth.  How  dim  had  been  his  apprehension  of  this  Faith 
and  this  Love  before  !  The  priest  elevated  the  Host,  and 
the  bell  sounded ;  she  bowed  more  humbly,  and  crossed  her 
breast ;  and,  like  a  flash,  it  struck  through  all  his  powers 
and  feelings,  and  the  image  on  the  altar  seemed  alive,  and 
the  colored  dimness  of  the  windows  as  a  light  of  paradise  ; 
tears  flowed  fast  from  his  eyes,  and  allayed  the  swelling 
fervor  of  his  heart. 

The  service  was  concluded.  He  again  offered  her  the 
consecrated  font ;  they  spoke  some  words,  and  she  withdrew. 
He  staid  behind,  in  order  to  excite  no  notice  ;  he  looked 
after  her  till  the  hem  of  her  garment  vanished  round  the 
corner  ;  and  he  felt  like  the  wanderer,  weary  and  astray,  from 
whom,  in  the  thick  forest,  the  last  gleam  of  the  setting  sun 
departs.  He  awoke  from  his-  dream,  as  an  old  withered 
hand  slapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  some  one  called  him 
by  name. 

He  started  back,  and  recognized  his  friend,  the  testy  old 


THE    GOBLET.  393 

Albert,  who  lived  apart  from  men,  and  whose  solitary  house 
was  open  to  Ferdinand  alone.  "  Do  you  remember  our 
engagement  ?  "  said  the  the  hoarse,  husky  voice.  "  O  yes," 
said  Ferdinand.  u  And  will  you  perform  your  promise  to- 
day ?  " 

"  This  very  hour,"  replied  the  other,  "  if  you  like  to 
follow  me." 

They  walked  through  the  city  to  a  remote  street,  and 
there  entered  a  large  edifice.  "  To-day,"  said  the  old  man, 
"  you  must  push  through  with  me  into  my  most  solitary 
chamber,  that  we  may  not  be  disturbed."  They  passed 
through  many  rooms,  then  along  some  stairs  ;  they  wound 
their  way  through  passages ;  and  Ferdinand,  who  had 
thought  himself  familiar  with  the  house,  was  now  aston- 
ished at  the  multitude  of  apartments,  and  the  singular  ar- 
rangement of  the  spacious  building;  but  still  more  that  the 
old  man,  a  bachelor,  and  without  family,  should  inhabit  it  by 
himself,  with  a  few  servants,  and  never  let  out  any  part  of 
the  superfluous  room  to  strangers.  Albert  at  length  unbolted 
a  door,  and  said  :  "  Now,  here  is  the  place."  They  entered 
a  large,  high  chamber,  hung  round  with  red  damask,  which 
was  trimmed  with  golden  listings;  the  chairs  were  of  the 
same  stufT;  and,  through  heavy  red  silk  curtains  covering 
the  windows,  came  a  purple  light.  "  Wait  a  little,"  said 
the  old  man,  and  went  into  another  room.  Ferdinand  took 
up  some  books  ;  he  found  them  to  contain  strange,  unintelli- 
gible characters,  circles,  and  lines,  with  many  curious 
plates  ;  and  from  the  little  he  could  read,  they  seemed  to  be 
works  on  alchemy  ;  he  was  aware  already  that  the  old  man 
had  the  reputation  of  a  gold-maker.  A  lute  was  lying  on 
the  table,  singularly  overlaid  with  mother-of-pearl,  and 
colored  wood  ;  and  representing  birds  and  flowers  in  very 
splendid  forms.  The  star  in  the  middle  was  a  large  piece  of 
mother-of-pearl,   worked   in  the   most   skilful   manner  into 


394 


T1ECK. 


many  intersecting  circular  figures,  almost  like  the  centre  of 
a  window  in  a  Gothic  church.  "  You  are  looking  at  my 
instrument,"  said  Albert,  coming  back  ;  "  it  is  two  hundred 
years  old  ;  I  brought  it  with  me  as  a  memorial  of  my  jour- 
ney into  Spain.  But  let  us  leave  all  that,  and  do  you  take  a 
seat." 

They  sat  down  beside  the  table,  which  was  likewise 
covered  with  a  red  cloth ;  and  the  old  man  placed  upon  it 
something  which  was  carefully  wrapped  up.  "  From  pity  to 
your  youth,"  he  began,  "  I  promised  lately  to  predict  to  you 
whether  you  could  ever  become  happy  or  not ;  and  this 
promise  I  will  in  the  present  hour  perform,  though  you  hold 
the  matter  only  as  a  jest.  You  need  not  be  alarmed,  for 
what  I  purpose  will  take  place  without  danger ;  no  dread 
invocations  shall  be  made  by  me,  nor  shall  any  horrid 
apparition  terrify  your  senses.  The  business  I  am  on  may 
fail  in  two  ways ;  either  if  you  do  not  love  so  truly  as  you 
have  been  willing  to  persuade  me;  for  then  my  labor  is  in 
vain,  and  nothing  will  disclose  itself;  or,  if  you  shall  disturb 
the  oracle  and  destroy  it  by  a  useless  question,  or  a  hasty 
movement,  should  you  leave  your  seat  and  dissipate  the 
figure  ;  you  must  therefore  promise  me  to  keep  yourself 
quite  still." 

Ferdinand  gave  his  word,  and  the  old  man  unfolded 
from  its  cloths  the  packet  he  had  placed  on  the  table.  It 
was  a  golden  goblet,  of  very  skilful  and  beautiful  work- 
manship. Round  its  broad  foot  ran  a  garland  of  flowers, 
intertwined  with  myrtles,  and  various  other  leaves  and  fruits, 
worked  out  in  high  chasing  with  dim  and  with  brilliant  gold. 
A  corresponding  ring,  but  still  richer,  with  figures  of  chil- 
dren, and  wild  little  animals  playing  with  them,  or  flying 
from  them,  wound  itself  about  the  middle  of  the  cup.  The 
bowl  was  beautifully  turned  ;  it  bent  itself  back  at  the  top  as 
if  to  meet  the  lips  ;  and  within,  the  gold  sparkled  with  a  red 


THE    GOBLET.  395 

glow.  Old  Albert  placed  the  cup  between  him  and  the 
youth,  whom  he  then  beckoned  to  come  nearer.  "  Do  you 
not  feel  something,"  said  he,  "  when  your  eye  loses  itself  in 
this  splendor  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Ferdinand,  "  this  brightness  glances 
into  my  inmost  heart ;  I  might  almost  say  I  felt  it  like  a  kiss 
in  my  longing  bosom.1' 

"  It  is  right,  then  !  "  said  the  old  man.  "  Now  let  not 
your  eyes  wander  any  more,  but  fix  them  steadfastly  on  the 
glittering  of  this  gold,  and  think  as  intensely  as  you  can  of 
the  woman  whom  you  love." 

Both  sat  quiet  for  a  while,  looking  earnestly  upon  the 
gleaming  cup.  Ere  long,  however,  Albert,  with  mute  ges- 
tures, began,  at  first  slowly,  then  faster,  and  at  last  in  rapid 
movements,  to  whirl  his  outstretched  finger  in  a  constant 
circle  round  the  glitter  of  the  bowl.  Then  he  paused,  and 
recommenced  his  circles  in  the  opposite  direction.  After 
this  had  lasted  for  a  little,  Ferdinand  began  to  think  he 
heard  the  sound  of  music  ;  it  cams  as  from  without,  in  some 
distant  street,  but  soon  the  tones  approached,  they  quivered 
more  distinctly  through  the  air  ;  and  at  last  no  doubt  re- 
mained with  him  that  they  were  flowing  from  the  hollow  of 
the  cup.  The  music  became  stronger,  and  of  such  piercing 
power,  that  the  young  man's  heart  was  throbbing  to  the 
notes,  and  tears  were  flowing  from  his  eyes.  Busily  old 
Albert's  hand  now  moved  in  various  lines  across  the  mouth 
of  the  goblet ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  sparks  were  issuing  from 
his  fingers,  and  darting  in  forked  courses  to  the  gold,  and 
tinkling  as  they  met  it.  The  glittering  points  increased  ; 
and  followed,  as  if  strung  on  threads,  the  movements  of  his 
finger  to  and  fro ;  they  shone  with  various  hues,  and  crowded 
more  and  more  together  till  they  joined  in  unbroken  lines. 
And  now  it  seemed  as  if  the  old  man,  in  the  red  dusk,  were 
stretching  a   wondrous  net  over  the  gleaming  gold  ;  for  he 


396  TIECK. 

drew  the  beams  this  way  and  that  at  pleasure,  and  wove 
up  with  them  the  opening  of  the  bowl ;  they  obeyed  him, 
and  remained  there  like  a  cover,  wavering  to  and  fro,  and 
playing  into  one  another.  Having  so  fixed  them,  he  again 
described  the  circle  round  the  rim  ;  the  music  then  moved 
off,  grew  fainter  and  fainter,  and  at  last  died  away.  While 
the  tones  departed,  the  sparkling  net  quivered  to  and  fro  as 
in  pain.  In  its  increasing  agitation  it  broke  in  pieces  ;  and 
the  beaming  threads  rained  down  in  drops  into  the  cup  ;  but 
as  the  drops  fell,  there  arose  from  them  a  ruddy  cloud, 
which  moved  within  itself  in  manifold  eddies,  and  mounted 
over  the  brim  like  foam.  A  bright  point  darted  with  ex- 
ceeding swiftness  through  the  cloudy  circle,  and  began  to 
form  the  Image  in  the  midst  of  it.  On  a  sudden  there 
looked  out  from  the  vapor  as  it  were  an  eye  ;  over  this 
came  a  playing  and  curling  as  of  golden  locks  ;  and  soon 
there  went  a  soft  blush  up  and  down  the  shadow,  and  Fer- 
dinand beheld  the  smiling  face  of  his  beloved,  the  blue  eyes, 
the  tender  cheeks,  the  fair  red  mouth.  The  head  waved  to 
and  fro,  rose  clearer  and  more  visible  upon  the  slim  white 
neck,  and  nodded  towards  the  enraptured  youth.  Old  Albert 
still  kept  casting  circles  round  the  cup;  and  out  of  it 
emerged  the  glancing  shoulders ;  and  as  the  fair  form 
mounted  more  and  more  from  its  golden  couch,  and  bent 
in  lovely  kindness  this  way  and  that,  the  soft,  curved,  parted 
breasts  appeared,  and  on  their  summits  two  loveliest  rose- 
buds glancing  with  sweet,  secret  red.  Ferdinand  fancied  he 
felt  the  breath,  as  the  beloved  form  bent  waving  towards 
him,  and  almost  touched  him  with  its  glowing  lips  ;  in  his 
rapture  he  forgot  his  promise  and  himself;  he  started  up 
and  clasped  that  ruby  mouth  to  him  with  a  kiss,  and  meant 
to  seize  these  lovely  arms,  and  lift  the  enrapturing  form 
from  its  golden  prison.  Instantly  a  violent  trembling  quiv- 
ered through   the   lovely  shape  ;  the   head  and  body  broke 


THE    GOBLET. 


397 


away  as  in  a  thousand  lines  ;  and  a  rose  was  lying  at  the 
bottom  of  the  goblet,  in  whose  redness  that  sweet  smile  still 
seemed  to  play.  The  longing  young  man  caught  it  and 
pressed  it  to  his  lips  ;  and  in  his  burning  ardor  it  withered 
and  melted  into  air. 

u  Thou  hast  kept  thy  promise  badly,"  said  the  old  man, 
with  an  angry  tone  ;  "thou  hast  none  but  thyself  to  blame." 
He  again  wrapped  up  the  goblet,  drew  aside  the  curtains, 
and  opened  a  window  ;  the  clear  daylight  broke  in ;  and 
Ferdinand,  in  sadness,  and  with  many  fruitless  excuses>  left 
old  Albert  still  in  anger. 

In  an  agitated  mood,  he  hastened  through  the  streets  of 
the  city.  Without  the  gate,  he  sat  down  beneath  the  trees. 
She  had  told  him  in  the  morning  that  she  was  to  go  that 
night  with  some  relations  to  the  country.  Intoxicated  with 
love,  he  rose,  he  sat,  he  wandered  in  the  wood  ;  that  fair, 
kind  form  was  still  before  him,  as  it  flowed  and  mounted 
from  the  glowing  gold  ;  he  looked  that  she  would  now  step 
forth  to  meet  him  in  the  splendor  of  her  beauty,  and  again 
that  loveliest  image  broke  away  in  pieces  from  his  eyes  ; 
and  he  was  indignant  at  himself,  that,  by  his  restless  passion 
and  the  tumult  of  his  senses,  he  should  have  destroyed  the 
shape,  and  perhaps  his  hopes,  forever. 

As  the  walk  in  the  afternoon  became  crowded,  he  with- 
drew deeper  into  the  thickets;  but  he  still  kept  the  distant 
highway  in  his  eye  ;  and  every  coach  that  issued  from  the 
gate  was  carefully  examined  by  him. 

The  night  approached.  The  setting  sun  was  throwing 
forth  its  red  splendor,  when  from  the  gate  rushed  out  the 
richly  gilded  coach,  gleaming  with  a  fiery  brightness  in  the 
glow  of  evening.  He  hastened  towards  it.  Her  eye  had 
already  seized  him.  Kindly  and  smilingly  she  leaned  her 
glittering  bosom  from  the  window  ;  he  caught  her  soft  salu- 
tation and  signal;  he   was  standing  by  the   coach,  her  full 

vol.  i.  34 


398  TIECK. 

look  fell  on  his,  and  as  she  drew  back  to  move  away,  the 
rose  which  had  adorned  her  bosom  flew  out  and  lay  at  his 
feet.  He  lifted  it,  and  kissed  it;  and  he  felt  as  if  it  pre- 
saged to  him  that  he  should  not  see  his  loved  one  any  more, 
that  now  bis  happiness  had  faded  away  from  him  forever. 


Hurried  steps  were  passing  up  stairs  and  down ;  the 
whole  house  was  in  commotion  ;  all  was  bustle  and  tumult, 
preparing  for  the  great  festivities  of  the  morrow.  The 
mother  was  the  gladdest  and  most  active  ;  the  bride  heeded 
nothing,  but  retired  into  her  chamber  to  meditate  upon  her 
changing  destiny.  The  family  were  still  looking  for  their 
elder  son,  the  captain,  with  his  wife  ;  and  for  two  elder 
daughters,  with  their  husbands ;  Leopold,  the  younger,  was 
maliciously  busied  in  increasing  the  disorder,  and  deepening 
the  tumult;  perplexing  all,  while  he  pretended  to  be  fur- 
thering it.  Agatha,  his  still  unmarried  sister,  was  in  vain 
endeavoring  to  make  him  reasonable,  and  to  persuade  him 
simply  to  do  nothing,  and  to  let  the  rest  have  peace  ;  but 
her  mother  said :  "  Never  mind  him  and  his  folly ;  for 
to-day  a  little  more  or  less  of  it  amounts  to  nothing ;  only 
this  I  beg  of  one  and  all  of  you,  that,  as  I  have  so  much  to 
think  about  already,  you  would  trouble  me  with  no  fresh 
tidings,  unless  it  be  of  something  that  especially  concerns 
us.  I  care  not  whether  any  one  have  let  some  china  fall, 
whether  one  spoon  or  two  spoons  are  wanting,  whether 
any  of  the  stranger  servants  have  been  breaking  windows  ; 
with  all  such  freaks  as  these  I  beg  you  would  not  vex  me 
by  recounting  them.  Were  these  days  of  tumult  over,  we 
will  reckon  matters  ;  not  till  then." 

"  Bravely  spoken,  mother  !  "  cried  her  son  ;  "  these  senti- 
ments  are   worthy  of  a  governor.     And   if  it  chance   that 


THE     GOBLET.  399 

any  of  the  maids  should  break  her  neck  ;  the  cook  get  tipsy, 
or  set  the  chimney  on  fire  ;  the  butler,  for  joy,  let  all  the 
malmsey  run  upon  the  floor,  or  down  his  throat,  you  shall 
not  hear  a  word  of  such  small  tricks.  If,  indeed,  an  earth- 
quake were  to  overset  the  house  !  That,  my  dear  mother, 
could  not  be  kept  secret." 

u  When  will  he  leave  his  folly!  "said  the  mother.  "  What 
must  thy  sisters  think,  when  they  find  thee  every  jot  as 
riotous  as  when  they  left  thee  two  years  ago  ?  " 

"  They  must  do  justice  to  my  force  of  character,"  said 
Leopold  ;  "  and  grant  that  I  am  not  so  changeable  as  they 
or  their  husbands,  who  have  altered  so  much  within  these 
few  years,  and  so  little  to  their  advantage." 

The  bridegroom  now  entered,  and  inquired  for  the  bride. 
Her  maid  was  sent  to  call  her.  "  Has  Leopold  made  my 
request  to  you,  my  dear  mother  ?  "  said  he. 

"  I  did,  forsooth,"  said  Leopold.  "  There  is  such  con- 
fusion here  among  us,  not  one  of  them  can  think  a  reason- 
able thought." 

The  bride  entered,  and  the  young  pair  joyfully  saluted 
one  another.  "  The  request  I  meant,"  continued  the  bride- 
groom, "  is  this ;  that  you  would  not  take  it  ill,  if  I  should 
bring  another  guest  into  your  house,  which,  in  truth,  is  full 
enough  already." 

"  You  are  aware  yourself,"  replied  the  mother,  "  that, 
extensive  as  it  is,  I  could  scarcely  find  another  chamber." 

"Notwithstanding,  I  have  partly  managed  it  already," 
cried  Leopold  ;  "  I  have  had  the  large  apartment  furbished 
up." 

"  Why,  that  is  quite  a  miserable  place,"  replied  the 
mother ;  "  for  many  years  it  has  been  nothing  but  a  lumber- 
room." 

"But  it  is  splendidly  repaired,"  said  Leopold;  "and  our 
friend,  for  whom  it  is  intended,  does  not  mind  such  matters  ; 


400 


TIEGK. 


he  desires  nothing  but  our  love.  Besides,  he  has  no  wife, 
and  likes  to  be  alone ;  it  is  the  very  place  for  him.  We 
have  had  enough  of  trouble  in  persuading  him  to  come,  and 
show  himself  again  among  his  fellow-creatures." 

"  Not  your  dismal  conjuror  and  gold-maker,  certainly  ? " 
cried  Agatha. 

"  No  other,"  said  the  bridegroom,  "  if  you  will  still  call 
him  so." 

"  Then  do  not  let  him,  mother,"  said  the  sister.  "  What 
should  a  man  like  that  do  here  ?  I  have  seen  him  on  the 
street  with  Leopold,  and  I  was  positively  frightened  at  his 
face.  The  old  sinner,  too,  almost  never  goes  to  church; 
he  loves  neither  God  nor  man  ;  and  it  cannot  come  to  good 
to  bring  such  infidels  under  the  roof,  on  a  solemnity  like 
this.     Who  knows  what  may  be  the  consequence  ?  " 

"  To  hear  her  talk!"  said  Leopold,  in  anger.  "Thou 
condemnest  without  knowing  him  ;  and  because  the  cut  of 
his  nose  does  not  please  thee,  and  he  is  no  longer  young 
and  handsome,  thou  concludest  him  a  wizard,  and  a  servant 
of  the  Devil." 

u  Grant  a  place  in  your  house,  dear  mother,"  said  the 
bridegroom,  "  to  our  old  friend,  and  let  him  take  a  part  in 
our  general  joy.  He  seems,  my  dear  Agatha,  to  have  en- 
dured much  suffering,  which  has  rendered  him  distrustful 
and  misanthropic ;  he  avoids  all  society,  his  only  exceptions 
are  Leopold  and  myself.  I  owe  him  much  ;  it  was  he  that 
first  gave  my  mind  a  good  direction ;  nay,  I  may  say,  it  is 
he  alone  that  has  rendered  me  perhaps  worthy  of  my  Julia's 
love." 

"  He  lends  me  all  his  books,"  continued  Leopold  ;  "  and, 
what  is  more,  his  old  manuscripts  ;  and,  what  is  more  still, 
his'  money,  on  my  bare  word.  He  is  a  man  of  the  most 
Christian  turn,  my  little  sister.  And  who  knows,  when  thou 
hast  seen  him  better,  whether  thou  wilt  not  throw  off  thy 


THE    GOBLET.  401 

coyness,  and  take  a  fancy  to  him,  ugly  as  he  now  appears 
to  thee  ? " 

"  Well,  bring  him  to  us,"  said  the  mother;  "I  have  had 
to  hear  so  much  of  him  from  Leopold  already,  that  I  have 
a  curiosity  to  be  acquainted  with  him.  Only  you  must 
answer  for  it,  that  I  cannot  lodge  him  better." 

Meantime,  strangers  were  announced.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  the  married  daughters,  and  the  officer ; 
they  had  brought  their  children  with  them.  The  good  old 
lady  was  delighted  to  behold  her  grandsons ;  all  was  wel- 
coming, and  joyful  talk ;  and  Leopold  and  the  bridegroom, 
having  also  given  and  received  their  greeting,  went  away 
to  seek  their  ancient,  melancholic  friend.  , 

The  latter  lived  most  part  of  the  year  in  the  country, 
about  a  league  from  town ;  but  he  also  kept  a  little  dwelling 
for  himself  in  a  garden  near  the  gate.  Here,  by  chance, 
the  young  men  had  become  acquainted  with  him.  They 
now  found  him  in  a  coffeehouse,  where  they  had  previously 
agreed  to  meet.  As  the  evening  had  come  on,  they  brought 
him,  after  some  little  conversation,  directly  to  the  house. 

The  stranger  met  a  kindly  welcome  from  the  mother; 
the  daughters  stood  a  little  more  aloof  from  him.  Agatha 
especially  was  shy,  and  carefully  avoided  his  looks.  But 
the  first  general  compliments  were  scarcely  over,  when 
the  old  man's  eye  appeared  to  settle  on  the  bride,  who 
had  entered  the  apartment  later ;  he  seemed  as  if  trans- 
ported, and  it  was  observed  that  he  was  struggling  to  con- 
ceal a  tear.  The  bridegroom  rejoiced  in  his  joy,  and  hap- 
pening sometime  after  to  be  standing  with  him  by  a  side 
at  the  window,  he  took  his  hand,  and  asked  him:  "Now, 
what  think  you  of  my  lovely  Julia?  Is  she  not  an  an- 
gel?" 

"  O,  my  friend  !  "  replied  the   old    man,  with   emotion, 
"  such  grace  and   beauty  I  have   never  seen ;  or  rather,  I 
34* 


402 


TIECK. 


should  say  (for  that  expression  was  not  just),  she  is  so  fair, 
so  ravishing,  so  heavenly,  that  I  feel  as  if  I  had  long  known 
her  ;  as  if  she  were  to  me,  utter  stranger  though  she  is,  the 
most  familiar  form  of  my  imagination,  some  shape  which 
had  always  been  an  inmate  of  my  heart." 

"  I  understand  you,"  said  the  young  man ;  "  yes,  the 
truly  beautiful,  the  great,  and  sublime,  when  it  overpowers 
us  with  astonishment  and  admiration,  still  does  not  surprise 
us  as  a  thing  foreign,  never  heard  of,  never  seen;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  our  own  inmost  nature  in  such  moments 
becomes  clear  to  us,  our  deepest  remembrances  are  awak- 
ened, our  dearest  feelings  made  alive." 

The  stranger,  during  supper,  mixed  but  little  in  the  con- 
versation ;  his  looks  were  fixed  on  the  bride,  so  earnestly 
and  constantly,  that  she  at  last  became  embarrassed  and 
alarmed.  The  captain  told  of  a  campaign  which  he  had 
served  in  ;  the  rich  merchant  of  his  speculations  and  the 
bad  times ;  the  country  gentleman  of  the  improvements 
which  he  meant  to  make  in  his  estate. 

Supper  being  done,  the  bridegroom  took  his  leave,  re- 
turning for  the  last  time  to  his  lonely  chamber ;  for  in  future 
it  was  settled  that  the  married  pair  were  to  live  in  the 
'mother's  house;  their  chambers  were  already  furnished. 
The  company  dispersed,  and  Leopold  conducted  the  stranger 
to  his  room.  "  You  will  excuse  us,"  said  he,  as  they  went 
along,  "  for  having  been  obliged  to  lodge  you  rather  far 
away,  and  not  so  comfortably  as  our  mother  wished  ;  but 
you  see,  yourself,  how  numerous  our  family  is,  and  more 
relations  are  to  come  to-morrow.  For  one  thing,  you  will 
not  run  away  from  us  ;  there  is  no  finding  of  your  course 
through  this  enormous  house.1' 

They  went  through  several  passages,  and  Leopold  at  last 
took  leave,  and  bade  his  guest  good-night.  The  servant 
placed  two  wax-lights  on  the  table  ;  then  asked  the  stranger 


THE    GOBLET.  403 

whether  he  should  help  him  to  undress,  and  as  the  latter 
waived  his  help  in  that  particular,  he  also  went  away,  and 
the  stranger  found  himself  alone. 

"  How  does  it  chance,  then,"  said  he,  walking  up  and 
down,  "  that  this  Image  springs  so  vividly  from  my  heart 
to-day  ?  I  forgot  the  long  past,  and  thought  I  saw  herself. 
I  was  again  young,  and  her  voice  sounded  as  of  old  ;  I 
thought  I  was  awakening  from  a  heavy  dream  ;  but  no,  I 
am  now  awake,  and  those  fair  moments  were  but  a  sweet 
delusion." 

He  was  too  restless  to  sleep  ;  he  looked  at  some  pictures 
on  the  walls,  and  then  round  on  the  chamber.  "  To-day," 
cried  he,  "  all  is  so  familiar  to  me,  I  could  almost  fancy  I 
had  known  this  house  and  this  apartment  of  old."  He  tried 
to  settle  his  remembrances,  and  lifted  some  large  books 
which  were  standing  in  a  corner.  As  he  turned  their  leaves, 
he  shook  his  head.  A  lute-case  was  leaning  on  the  wall  ; 
he  opened  it,  and  found  a  strange  old  instrument,  time-worn, 
and  without  the  strings.  "  No,  I  am  not  mistaken  !  "  cried 
he,  in  astonishment;  "  this  lute  is  too  remarkable  ;  it  is  the 
Spanish  lute  of  my  long-departed  friend,  old  Albert !  Here 
are  his  magic  books  ;  this  is  the  chamber  where  he  raised 
for  me  that  blissful  vision  ;  the  red  of  the  tapestry  is  faded, 
its  golden  hem  is  become  dim  ;  but  strangely  vivid  in  my 
heart  is  all  pertaining  to  those  hours.  It  was  for  this  the 
fear  went  over  me  as  I  was  coming  hither,  through  these 
long,  complicated  passages  where  Leopold  conducted  me. 
O  Heaven  !  On  this  very  table  did  the  Shape  rise  budding 
forth,  and  grow  up  as  if  watered  and  refreshed  by  the  redness 
of  the  gold.  The  same  image  smiled  upon  me  here,  which 
has  almost  driven  me  crazy  in  the  hall  to-night ;  in  that  hall 
where  I  have  walked  so  often  in  trustful  speech  with  Al- 
bert !  " 

He  undressed,  but  slept  very  little.     Early  in  the  morn- 


404 


TIECK. 


ing  he  was  up,  and  looking  at  the  room  again  ;  he  opened 
the  window,  and  the  same  gardens  and  buildings  were  ly- 
ing before  him  as  of  old,  only  many  other  houses  had  been 
built  since  then.  "  Forty  years  have  vanished,"  sighed  he, 
"  since  that  afternoon  ;  and  every  day  of  those  bright  times 
has  a  longer  life  than  all  the  intervening  space." 

He  was  called  to  the  company.  The  morning  passed  in 
varied  talk  ;  at  last  the  bride  entered  in  her  marriage-dress. 
As  the  old  man  noticed  her,  he  fell  into  a  state  of  agitation, 
such  that  every  one  observed  it.  They  proceeded  to  the 
church,  and  the  marriage-ceremony  was  performed.  The 
party  was  again  at  home,  when  Leopold  inquired  :  n  Now, 
mother,  how  do  you  like  our  friend,  the  good,  morose  old 
gentleman  ?  " 

"  I  had  figured  him,  by  your  description,"  said  she,  "  much 
more  frightful ;  he  is  mild  and  sympathetic,  and  might  gain 
from  one  an  honest  trust  in  him." 

"Trust?"  cried  Agatha;  "in  these  burning,  frightful 
eyes,  these  thousand-fold  wrinkles,  that  pale,  sunk  mouth, 
that  strange  laugh  of  his,  which  looks  and  sounds  so  mock- 
ingly ?  No ;  God  keep  me  from  such  friends  !  If  evil 
spirits  ever  take  the  shape  of  men,  they  must  assume  some 
shape  like  this." 

"  Perhaps  a  younger  and  more  handsome  one,"  replied 
the  mother  ;  "  but  I  cannot  recognize  the  good  old  man  in 
thy  description.  One  easily  observes  that  he  is  of  a  violent 
temperament,  and  has  inured  himself  to  lock  up  his  feelings 
in  his  own  bosom  ;  perhaps,  too,  as  Leopold  was  saying,  he 
may  have  encountered  many  miseries  ;  so  he  is  grown  mis- 
trustful, and  has  lost  that  simple  openness  which  is  espe- 
cially the  portion  of  the  happy." 

The  rest  of  the  party  entered,  and  broke  off  their  con- 
versation. Dinner  was  served  up  ;  and  the  stranger  sat  be- 
tween Agatha  and  the   rich   merchant.      When  the   toasts 


THE    GOBLET.  405 

were  beginning,  Leopold  cried  out :  "  Now,  stop  a  little, 
worthy  friends  ;  we  must  have  the  golden  goblet  down  for 
this,  then  let  it  travel  round." 

He  was  rising,  but  his  mother  beckoned  him  to  keep  his 
seat.  "  Thou  wilt  not  find  it,"  said  she,  "  for  the  plate  is 
all  stowed  elsewhere."  She  walked  out  rapidly  to  seek  it 
herself. 

"  How  brisk  and  busy  is  our  good  old  lady  still  ! "  ob- 
served the  merchant.  "  See  how  nimbly  she  can  move, 
with  all  her  breadth  and  weight,  and  reckoning  sixty  by  this 
time  of  day.  Her  face  is  always  bright  and  joyful,  and  to- 
day she  is  particularly  happy,  for  she  sees  herself  made 
young  again  in  Julia." 

The  stranger  gave  assent,  and  the  lady  entered  with  the 
goblet.  It  was  filled  with  wine,  and  began  to  circulate, 
each  toasting  what  was  dearest  and  most  precious  to  him. 
Julia  gave  the  welfare  of  her  husband,  he  the  love  of  his 
fair  Julia ;  and  thus  did  every  one  as  it  became  his  turn. 
The  mother  lingered,  as  the  goblet  came  to  her. 

"  Come,  quick  with  it,"  said  the  captain,  somewhat  hastily 
and  rudely  ;  "  we  know,  you  reckon  all  men  faithless,  and 
not  one  among  them  worthy  of  a  woman's  love.  What, 
then,  is  dearest  to  you  ?  " 

His  mother  looked  at  him,  while  the  mildness  of  her  brow 
was  on  a  sudden  overspread  with  angry  seriousness.  "  Since 
my  son,"  said  she,  "knows  me  so  well,  and  can  judge  my 
mind  so  rigorously,  let  me  be  permitted  not  to  speak  what 
I  was  thinking  of,  and  let  him  endeavor,  by  a  life  of  constant 
love,  to  falsify  what  he  gives  out  as  my  opinion."  She 
pushed  the  goblet  on,  without  drinking,  and  the  company 
was  for  a  while  embarrassed  and  disturbed. 

"  It  is  reported,"  said  the  merchant,  in  a  whisper,  turning 
to  the  stranger,  "  that  she  did  not  love  her  husband  ;  but 
another,  who  proved  faithless  to  her.  She  was  then,  it 
seems,  the  finest  woman  in  the  city." 


406 


TIECK. 


When  the  cup  reached  Ferdinand,  he  gazed  upon  it  with 
astonishment;  for  it  was  the  very  goblet  out  of  which  old 
Albert  had  called  forth  to  him  the  lovely  shadow.  He 
looked  in  upon  the  gold,  and  the  waving  of  the  wine  ;  his 
hand  shook  ;  it  would  not  have  surprised  him,  if  from  the 
magic  bowl  that  glowing  Form  had  again  mounted  up,  and 
brought  with  it  his  vanished  youth.  "  No  !  "  said  he,  after 
some  time,  half-aloud,  "  it  is  wine  that  is  gleaming  here  !  " 

"  Ay,  what  else  ?  "  cried  the  merchant,  laughing  :  "  Drink 
and  be  merry." 

A  thrill  of  terror  passed  ever  the  old  man  ;  he  pronounced 
the  name  "Francesca"  in  a  vehement  tone,  and  set  the 
goblet  to  his  lips.  The  mother  cast  upon  him  an  inquiring 
and  astonished  look. 

"  Whence  is  this  bright  goblet  ?  "  said  Ferdinand,  who 
also  felt  ashamed  of  his  embarrassment. 

"  Many  years  ago,  long  ere  I  was  born,"  said  Leopold, 
"  my  father  bought  it,  with  this  house  and  all  its  furniture, 
from  an  old,  solitary  bachelor  ;  a  silent  man,  whom  the 
neighbors  thought  a  dealer  in  the  Black  Art." 

The  stranger  did  not  say  that  he  had  known  this  old 
man  ;  for  his  whole  being  was  too  much  perplexed,  too  like 
an  enigmatic  dream,  to  let  the  rest  look  into  it,  even  from 
afar. 

The  cloth  being  withdrawn,  he  was  left  alone  with  the 
mother,  as  the  young  ones  had  retired  to  make  ready  for 
the  ball.  "  Sit  down  by  me,"  said  the  mother  ;  "  we  will 
rest,  for  our  dancing  years  are  past  ;  and  if  it  is  not  rude, 
allow  me  to  inquire  whether  you  have  seen  our  goblet  else- 
where, or  what  it  was  that  moved  you  so  intensely  ?  " 

M  O  my  lady,"  said  the  old  man,  "  pardon  my  foolish 
violence  and  emotion  ;  but  ever  since  I  crossed  your  thresh- 
old, I  feel  as  if  I  were  no  longer  myself;  every  moment  I 
forget  that  my  head  is  grej*,  that  the   hearts  which  loved  me 


THE    GOBLET.  407 

are  dead.  Your  beautiful  daughter,  who  is  now  celebrating 
the  gladdest  day  of  her  existence,  is  so  like  a  maiden  whom 
I  knew  and  adored  in  my  youth,  that  I  could  reckon  it  a 
miracle.  Like,  did  I  say  ?  No,  she  is  not  like  ;  it  is  she 
herself!  In  this  house,  too,  I  have  often  been;  and  once  I 
became  acquainted  with  this  cup  in  a  manner  I  shall  not 
forget."  Here  he  told  her  his  adventure.  "  On  the  evening 
of  that  day,"  concluded  he,  "in  the  park,  I  saw  my  loved 
one  for  the  last  time,  as  she  was  passing  in  her  coach.  A 
rose  fell  from  her  bosom  ;  this  I  gathered,  she  herself  was 
lost  to  me,  for  she  proved  faithless,  and  soon  after  married." 
"  God  in  Heaven  !  "  cried  the  lady,  violently  moved,  and 
starting  up,  "  thou  art  not  Ferdinand  ?  " 
"  It  is  my  name,"  replied  he. 
"I  am  Francesca,"  said  the  lady. 

They  sprang  forward  to  embrace,  then  started  suddenly 
back.  Each  viewed  the  other  with  investigating  looks;  both 
strove  again  to  evolve  from  the  ruins  of  Time  those  line- 
aments which  of  old  they  had  known  and  loved  in  one 
another  ;  and  as,  in  dark,  tempestuous  nights,  amid  the  flight 
of  black  clouds,  there  are  moments  when  solitary  stars 
ambiguously  twinkle  forth,  to  disappear  next  instant,  so  to 
these  two  was  there  shown  now  and  then  from  the  eyes, 
from  the  brow  and  lips,  the  transitory  gleam  of  some  well- 
known  feature  ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  their  Youth  stood  in  the 
distance,  weeping  smiles.  He  bowed  down,  and  kissed  her 
hand,  while  two  big  drops  rolled  from  his  eyes.  They  then 
embraced  each  other  cordially. 

u  Is  thy  wife  dead  ?  "  inquired  she. 

u  I  was  never  married,"  sobbed  the  other. 

"  Heavens  !  "  cried  she,  wringing  her   hands,  "  then  it  is 

I    who    have    been    faithless  !    But    no,  not  faithless.      On 

returning   from   the  country,  where   I  stayed  two  months,  I 

heard  from  every  one,  thy  friends  as  well  as  mine,  that  thou 


408  TIECK. 

wert  long  ago  gone  home,  and  married  in  thy  own  country. 
They  showed  me  the  most  convincing  letters,  they  pressed 
me  vehemently,  they  profited  by  my  despondency,  my  in- 
dignation ;  and  so  it  was  that  I  gave  my  hand  to  another,  a 
deserving  husband  ;  but  my  heart  and  my  thoughts  were 
always  thine." 

"  I  never  left  this  town,"  said  Ferdinand  ;  u  but  after  a 
while,  I  heard  that  thou  wert  married.  They  wished  to  part 
us,  and  they  have  succeeded.  Thou  art  a  happy  mother ; 
I  live  in  the  past,  and  all  thy  children  I  will  love  as  if  they 
were  my  own.  But  how  strange  that  we  should  never  once 
have  met ! " 

"  I  seldom  went  abroad,"  said  she  ;  "  and  as  my  hus- 
band took  another  name,  soon  after  we  were  married,  from 
a  property  which  he  inherited,  thou  couldst  have  no  sus- 
picion that  we  were  so  near  together." 

"  I  avoided  men,"  said  Ferdinand,  "  and  lived  for  solitude. 
Leopold  is  almost  the  only  one  that  has  attracted  me,  and 
led  me  out  amongst  my  fellows.  O  my  beloved  friend  !  it 
is  like  a  frightful  spectre-story,  to  think  how  we  lost,  and 
have  again  found  each  other." 

As  the  young  people  entered,  the  two  were  dissolved  in 
tears,  and  in  the  deepest  emotion.  Neither  of  them  told 
what  had  occurred,  the  secret  seemed  too  holy.  But  ever 
after,  the  old  man  was  the  friend  of  the  house ;  and  Death 
alone  parted  these  two  beings,  who  had  found  each  other 
so  strangely,  to  reunite  them  in  a  short  time,  beyond  the 
power  of  separation. 


END    OF    VOLUME    FIRST. 


GERMAN    ROMANCE. 


GERMAN    ROMANCE 

SPECIMENS 


OF 


ITS    CHIEF    AUTHORS; 


WITH 


BIOGRAPHICAL  AND   CRITICAL 


NOTICES. 


BY    THOMAS     CARLYLE 


N      TWO      VOLUMES 


VOLUME      II. 


BOSTON: 
JAMES    MUNROE    AND     COMPANY- 

MDCCCXLI. 


CAMBRIDGE  PRESS  t 
MFTCALF,  TORRY,  AND  BALLOU. 


CONTENTS 


E.  T.  W.   HOFFMANN. 
Biographical  Notice      ........         1 

The  Golden  Pot 23 

JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICII  RICHTER. 

Biographical  Notice 123 

Army-Chaplain    Schmelzle's    Journey    to    Flatz ;    with  a 

Running  Commentary  of  Notes       ....         141 
Life  of  Quintus  Fixlein.     Extracted  from  Fifteen  Letter- 

Boxes 213 


E.  T.  W.  HOFFMANN 


VOL.  II. 


GERMAN    ROMANCE. 


E.  T.   W.  HOFFMANN. 

Hoffmann's  Life  and  Remains  have  been  published, 
shortly  after  his  decease,  and  with  an  amplitude  of  detail 
corresponding  rather  to  the  popularity  than  to  the  intrinsic 
merit  of  the  subject ;  for  Hoffman  belongs  to  that  too  nu- 
merous class  of  vivid  and  gifted  literary  men,  whose  genius, 
never  cultured  or  elaborated  into  purity,  finds  loud  and 
sudden  rather  than  judicious  or  permanent  admiration  ;  and 
whose  history,  full  of  error  and  perplexed  vicissitude,  ex- 
cites sympathizing  regret  in  a  few,  and  unwise  wonder  in 
many.  From  this  Work,  which  is  honestly  and  modestly 
enough  written,  and  has,  to  all  appearance,  been  extensively 
read  and  approved  of,  I  borrow  most  of  the  following  par- 
ticulars. 

Ernst  Theodor  Wilhelm  Hoffmann  was  born  at  Konigs- 
berg,  in  Prussia,  on  the  24th  of  January,  1776.  His  father 
occupied  a  post  of  some  dignity  in  the  administration  of 
Justice  ;  the  mother's  relatives  were  also  engaged  in  the 
profession  of  Law  ;  most  of  them  respectably,  some  of 
them  with  considerable  influence  and  reputation.  The  elder 
Hoffmann  is  said  to  have  been   a   man  of  talent ;  but  his 


4  HOFFMANN. 

temper  and  habitudes  were  irregular  ;  his  wife  was  sickly, 
sensitive,  and  perhaps  querulous  and  uncompliant.  In  our 
Ernst  their  second  child's  third  year,  the  parents  discovered 
that  they  could  not  live  together  ;  and,  apparently  by  mutual 
consent,  dissolved  their  ill-assorted  union.  The  father  with- 
drew from  Konigsberg,  to  prosecute  his  legal  and  judicial 
engagements  elsewhere;  and  seems  to  have  troubled  himself 
no  farther  about  his  offspring  or  old  connexions.  He  died, 
several  years  after,  at  Insterburg,  where  he  had  been  sta- 
tioned as  a  Judge  in  the  Criminal  Court  of  the  Oberland. 
The  other  parent  retired  with  young  Ernst  to  her  mother's 
house,  also  in  Konigsberg  ;  and  there,  in  painful  inaction, 
wore  out  seventeen  sick  and  pitiable  years,  before  death  put 
a  period  to  her  sufferings.  Prior  to  the  separation,  the  elder 
child,  also  a  boy,  had  gone  astray  into  wicked  courses,  and 
at  last  set  forth  as  an  infant  prodigal  into  the  wide  world. 
The  two  brothers  never  met,  though  the  elder  is  said  to  be 
still  in  life. 

Cut  off  from  his  natural  guardians  and  directors,  young 
Hoffmann  seems  to  have  received  no  adequate  compensation 
for  the  want  of  them,  and  his  early  culture  was  but  ill  con- 
ducted. The  grandmother,  like  her  daughter,  was  perpet- 
ually sick,  neither  of  the  two  almost  ever  stirring  from 
their  rooms.  An  uncle,  retired  with  the  barren  title  of  Jus- 
tizrath  from  an  abortive  practice  of  Law,  took  charge  of  the 
boy's  education  ;  but  little  Otto  had  no  insight  into  the  en- 
dowments or  perversities  of  his  nephew,  and  spent  much 
fruitless  effort  in  endeavoring  to  train  the  frolicsome  urchin 
to  a  clockwork  life  like  his  own  ;  for  Otto  lived  by  square 
and  rule;  his  history  was  a  rigid,  strenuous,  methodical 
procedure  ;  of  which,  indeed,  except  the  process  of  digest- 
ion, faithfully  enough  performed,  the  result,  in  Otto's  case, 
was  nothing.  An  unmarried  aunt,  the  only  other  member 
of  the  family,  the  only  member  of  it  gifted   with  any  share 


HOFFMANN.  O 

of  sense,  appears  to  have  had  a  truer  view  of  young  Hoff- 
mann ;  but  she  loved  the  little  rogue  too  well  ;  and  her 
tenderness,  though  repaid  by  equal  and  continued  tenderness 
on  his  part,  perhaps  hurt  him  more  than  the  leaden  con- 
straint of  his  uncle.  For  the  rest,  the  boy  did  not  let  the 
yoke  lie  too  heavy  on  his  shoulders.  Otto,  it  is  true,  was 
his  teacher,  his  chamber-mate,  and  bed-mate ;  but  every 
Thursday,  the  little  Justizrath  went  out  to  pay  visits,  and  the 
pupil  could  then  celebrate  a  day  of  bedlam  jubilee.  In  a 
little  while,  too,  by  superiority  of  natural  cunning,  he  had 
sounded  the  Justizrath  ;  and  from  his  twelfth  year,  we  are 
told,  he  scarcely  ever  spoke  a  word  with  him,  except  for 
purposes  of  mystification.  In  this  prim  circle,  he  grew  up 
in  almost  complete  isolation  ;  for,  by  reason  of  its  fantastic 
strictness,  the  household  was  visited  by  few ;  and  except 
one  boy,  a  nephew  of  the  Author  HippePs,  with  whom  he 
accidentally  became  acquainted,  Hoffmann  had  no  compan- 
ion but  his  foolish  uncle  and  his  too  fond  aunt.  With  young 
Hippel  his  intimacy  more  and  more  increased  ;  and  it  is 
pleasant  to  record  of  both,  that  this  early  connexion  contin- 
ued unbroken,  often  warm  and  helpful,  through  many 
changes  of  fortune  ;  Hoffman's  school-friend  stood  by  his 
death-bed,  and  look  his  farewell  of  him  with  true,  heart-felt 
tears. 

For  classical  instruction,  he  was  early  sent  to  the  public 
school  of  Konigsberg ;  but  till  his  thirteenth  or  fourteenth 
year,  he  acquired  no  taste  for  these  pursuits  ;  and  remained 
unnoticed  by  his  teacher,  and  by  all  his  schoolfellows,  except 
Hippel,  rather  disrespected  and  disliked.  Music  and  paint- 
ing, in  which  also  he  had  masters,  were  more  to  his  taste  ; 
in  a  short  while,  he  could  fantasy  to  admiration  on  the  harp- 
sichord ;  and  there  was  no  comic  visage  in  Konigsberg 
which  he  had  not  sketched  in  caricature.  His  tiny  stature 
(for  in  youth,  as  in  manhood,  he  was  little,  and  "  incredibly 
1* 


6  HOFFMANN. 

brisk  "),  giving  him  an  almost  infantine  appearance,  added 
new  wonder  to  these  attainments  ;  and  so  young  Ernst  be- 
came a  musical  and  pictorial  prodigy  ;  to  the  no  small  com- 
fort of  Justizrath  Otto,  who  delighted  to  observe  that  the 
little  imp,  who  had  played  him  so  many  sorry  tricks,  and  so 
often  overset  the  steady  machinery  of  his  household  economy, 
was  turning  out,  not  a  blackguard,  but  a  genius. 

With  more  prudence  and  regularity  than  could  have  been 
expected,  Hoffmann  betook  himself,  in  due   time,  to  prepar- 
ing for  the  legal   profession  ;  to  which,   as    if  by  hereditary 
destiny,  he  was  appointed.     In  the  Konigsberg  University, 
indeed,  he  confessed   that  Kant's   prelections   were  a   dead 
letter  to  him,  though  it  was  at  that  time  the  fashion  both  for 
the  wise  and  simple  to  be  metaphysically  transcendental  ;  but 
he  abstained  from  the  riotous  practices  of  his   fe\\ow-Burs- 
chen,  and  pursued  with  strict  fidelity   the   tasks  by  which  he 
hoped  ere  long  to   gain   an   independent  livelihood,  and  be 
delivered  from  the  thraldom  of  his   grandmother  and  Justiz- 
rath Otto.     In   this  hope  he   labored  ;  allowing  himself  no 
recreation,  except  once  a-week  an  evening   of  literary  talk 
with   his  fellow-student   Hippel,  and  an  occasional   glance 
into  Winkelmann,  or  other  works  on  Art,  to   which,  as  for- 
merly, the  better  part  of  his  nature  was  passionately  devoted. 
In  1795   he    passed   his  first   professional  trial,  and   was 
admitted  Auscultator  of  the  Court  of  Konigsberg  ;  an  estab- 
lishment administrative  as  well  as  judicial ;  in   which,  how- 
ever, owing  to  the  pressure  of  applicants,  it   was  impossible 
to  give  him  full  employment.     This   leisure,  which,  with  so 
hot  and  impatient  a  spirit,  hung  heavy  enough  on  his  hands, 
he  endeavored  to  fill  up  with  subsidiary  pursuits.    He   gave 
private   lessons   in   music  ;  he   painted   wild   landscapes,  or 
grotesque  figures,  to  which  ua  bold  alternation  of  color  and 
shade  "  gave  a  specific   character  ;    he  talked   of  men   and 
things,  with  the  most  sportful  fancy,  or  the   most  biting  sar- 


HOFFMANN.  7 

casm  ;  in  fine,  he  wrote  two  Novels.  One  of  these,  at  least, 
lie  had  hoped  to  see  in  print;  for  a  bookseller  had  received 
it  with  some  expressions  of  encouragement ;  but  after  half 
a  year,  his  fair  manuscript  was  returned  to  him,  all  soiled 
and  creased,  with  an  answer,  that  "  the  anonymity  of  the 
work  was  likely  to  hurt  its  sale."  In  the  mean  time,  his 
situation  had  become  still  more  perplexed  by  a  private  inci- 
dent in  the  style  of  the  Nouvelle  Heloise.  One  of  his  fair 
music-pupils  was  too  lovely  and  too  soft-hearted  ;  no  mar- 
riage could  be  thought  of  between  the  parties,  for  she  was 
far  above  him  in  rank  ;  and  the  contradictions  and  entangle- 
ments of  this  affair  so  pained  and  oppressed  him,  that  he 
longed  with  double  vehemence  to  be  out  of  Konigsberg. 
At  last,  after  much  wavering  and  consulting,  he  snatched 
himself  away,  with  a  resolute,  indeed  almost  heroic  effort, 
from  the  unpropitious  scene  ;  and  proceeded,  in  the  summer 
of  1796,  to  Great  Glogau  in  Silesia,  where  another  uncle, 
a  brother  of  Otto's,  occupied  a  post  in  the  Administration, 
and  had  promised  to  procure  him  employment. 

In  Great  Glogau  he  did  not  find  the  composure  which  he 
was  in  search  of;  his  uncle  and  his  cousins  treated  him 
with  great  affection,  and  his  labor  was  not  irksome  or  un- 
profitable ;  but,  in  his  letters,  he  complains  incessantly  of 
tedium,  and  other  spiritual  maladies ;  and,  in  1798,  he 
joyfully  took  leave  of  Silesia,  following  his  uncle,  who  was 
now  promoted  to  a  higher  legal  post  in  Berlin.  Here,  too, 
the  young  jurist  continued  only  for  a  short  time.  Having 
passed  his  third  and  last  trial,  the  examen  rigorosum,  and 
this  with  no  common  applause,  he  was  soon  afterwards  ap- 
pointed Assessor  of  the  Court  at  Posen,  in  South  Prussia 
(Poland) ;  whither  he  proceeded  in  March,  1800. 

With  Hoffmann's  removal  to  Poland  begins  a  new  era 
of  his  life;  he  was  now  director  of  his  own  actions,  but 
unhappily   he    did   not  direct   them   well.      At    Berlin,  and 


8  HOFFMANN. 

even  at  Great  Glogau,  he  had  been  accustomed  to  enliven 
the  routine  of  legal  duty  by  the  study  of  Art ;  for  which 
the  public  collections  of  pictures,  and  the  numerous  profes- 
sors of  music,  had  in  both  cities  afforded  considerable  oppor- 
tunity. In  Posen,  these  resources  were  abridged  ;  there 
was  little  music,  little  painting ;  his  official  associates  were 
dry,  week-day  men,  who  worked  hard  at  their  desks,  and 
lived  hard  when  enfranchised  from  them  ;  without  taste  for 
literature,  or  art  of  any  kind,  except  it  were  the  art  of  cook- 
ery and  brewing.  The  Poles  also  were  a  lively,  jolly  peo- 
ple, and  much  addicted  to  "  strong  Hungary  wine."  Hoff- 
mann yielded  too  far  to  the  custom  of  the  land  ;  and  here, 
it  would  seem,  contracted  habits  of  irregularity,  from  which 
he  could  never  after  get  delivered.  Another  refuge  against 
tedium,  derived  from  his  own  peculiar  resources,  was  even 
less  to  be  excused.  In  private  hours,  he  had  condescended 
to  become  the  scandalous  chronicle  of  Posen,  and  to  sketch 
a  series  of  caricatures,  exhibiting,  under  the  most  ludicrous, 
yet  recognizable  aspects,  a  great  number  of  individuals  and 
transactions  ;  sparing  no  rank  or  relation,  where  he  fancied 
himself  to  have  been  provoked,  or  thought  his  satire  might 
be  expected  to  tell.  On  occasion  of  a  masquerade,  a  gay 
companion,  his  future  brother-in-law,  equipped  himself  like 
an  Italian  hawker  ;  and  proceeding  to  the  ball  with  his  pes- 
tilent ware  in  his  basket,  distributed  the  pictures,  each  pic- 
ture to  some  ill-wisher  of  the  person  whom  it  represented  ;  and 
then  vanished  from  the  room.  For  the  first  half  hour,  there  was 
a  general  triumph  ;  which,  on  comparing  notes,  passed  into  a 
general  wail.  The  author  was  speedily  detected  ;  his  talent, 
the  only  thing  admirable  in  the  transaction,  betrayed  him, 
and  the  punishment  followed  close  on  the  offence.  Intelli- 
gence was  sent  to  Berlin  ;  and  the  patent,  lying  ready  for 
signature,  which  should  have  made  him  Rath  (Councillor)  at 
Posen,  was  changed  for  a  similar  appointment  at  Plozk;  a 


HOFFMANN.  \f 

change  which,  in  all  points,  he  regarded  as  an  exile,  but 
which  his  best  friends  could  not  help  admitting  that  he  had 
richly  merited. 

From  Plozk  he  failed  not  to  emit  his  Tristia ;  soliciting, 
with  pressing  earnestness,  deliverance  from  his  Polish  To- 
mos.  What  was  more  to  the  purpose,  he  seems  to  have 
amended  his  conduct;  he  had  married  while  in  Posen ; 
his  wife,  a  fair  Poless,  was  possessed  of  many  graces,  and 
of  contentment  and  submissiveness  without  limit;  and  the 
husband  was  beginning  to  substitute  the  duties  and  enjoy- 
ments of  domestic  and  studious  life,  for  the  revelry  and  riot 
in  which  of  late  he  had  much  too  deeply  mingled.  In  his 
official  capacity,  his  assiduity  and  perseverance  so  far 
gained  on  his  superiors,  that  at  length,  by  the  influence  of 
Hippel  and  other  friends,  he  was  transferred  from  Plozk  to 
Warsaw;  after  having  spent  two  regretful,  but  diligent  and 
not  unprofitable  years,  in  this  provincial  seclusion.  In  the 
summer  of  1804  he  hastened  to  his  new  destination,  which 
his  fancy  had  decked  for  him  in  all  the  colors  of  hope. 

To  Hoffmann  the  Polish  capital  was  like  a  vast,  perpetual 
masquerade  ;  and  for  a  time  he  enjoyed  its  exotic,  many- 
colored  aspect,  the  more  from  its  contrast  with  his  late  way 
of  life.  Bis  public  duty  was  not  difficult,  and  he  performed 
it  punctually;  his  salary  sufficed  him  ;  there  were  theatres 
and  music  on  every  hand  ;  and  the  streets  were  peopled 
with  a  motley  tumult  of  the  strangest  forms;  "gay,  silken 
Polesses,  talking  and  promenading  over  broad,  stately  squares; 
the  ancient,  venerable  Polish  noble,  with  moustaches,  cafian, 
sash,  and  red  or  yellow  boots;  the  new  race  equipped  as 
Parisian  Incroyables  ;  with  foreigners  of  every  nation  ;  "  not 
excluding  long-bearded  Jews,  puppetshow-men,  monks,  and 
dancing-bears.  In  a  little  while,  Hoffmann  had  formed 
some  acquaintances  among  the  human  part  of  the  throng; 
with   one   Hitzig,  his   colleague    in   office,  he  established  a 


10  HOFFMANN. 

lasting  intimacy.  It  began  oddly  enough.  One  day  the 
two  were  walking  home  together  from  the  Court,  and  en- 
gaged in  laborious,  stinted,  and  formal  conversation,  when 
Hoffmann,  asking  the  character  of  some  individual,  the 
other  answered,  in  the  words  of  FalstafF,  that  he  was  "  a 
fellow  in  buckram  ; "  a  phrase  which  enlightened  the  caustic 
visage  of  Hoffmann,  at  all  times  shy  to  strangers,  and  at 
once  raised  him  into  one  of  his  brilliant,  communicative 
moods.  This  Hitzig,  himself  a  man  of  talent  and  energy, 
was  of  great  service  in  assisting  Hoffman's  intellectual  cul- 
ture while  at  Warsaw,  and  stood  by  him  afterwards  in  many 
difficult  emergencies. 

An  enthusiast  dilettante  prepared  a  new  source  of  interest 
to  Hoffmann,  by  a  scheme  which  he  proposed  of  erecting  a 
Musical  Institution.  By  dint  of  great  effort  the  dilettante 
succeeded  in  procuring  subscribers  ;  first  one  deserted  pal- 
ace, then  a  larger  one,  was  purchased  for  a  hall  of  meeting ; 
and  Hoffmann,  seeing  that  the  scheme  was  really  to  take 
effect,  now  entered  into  it  with  heart  and  hand.  He  planned 
the  arrangement  of  the  rooms  in  the  New  Ressource ;  for 
their  decorations  he  sketched  cartoons,  part  of  which  were 
painted  by  other  artists,  part  he  himself  painted  ;  not  for- 
getting to  introduce  caricature  portraits  of  many  honest 
subscribers,  whom,  by  wings  and  tails,  he  disguised  as 
sphinxes,  gryphons,  and  other  mythological  cattle.  His  time 
was  henceforth  divided  between  his  Court  and  this  Musical 
Ressource.  Here,  perched  on  his  scaffold,  among  his  paint- 
pots,  with  the  brush  in  his  hand,  and  a  bottle  of  Hungary 
by  his  side,  he  might,  in  free  hours,  be  seen  diligently  work- 
ing,  and  talking  in  the  mean  while  to  his  friends  assembled 
below.  If  called  to  any  juridical  function  by  an  extraordi- 
nary mandate  from  the  President,  he  would  doff  his  painter's- 
jacket,  clamber  down  from  his  scaffold,  wash  his  hands, 
and,  to  the   surprise  of  parties,  transact  their  business  as 


HOFFMANN.  11 

rapidly  and  correctly  as  if  he  had  known  no  other  em- 
ployment. 

The  Musical  Ressource  prospered  beyond  expectation. 
Brilliant  concerts  were  given;  all  that  was  fairest  and  grace- 
fullest  in  Warsaw  attending,  or  even  assisting.  Hoffmann 
officiated  as  leader  in  their  performance  ;  and,  especially 
in  Mozart's  pieces,  was  allowed  to  perform  his  part  with 
consummate  skill.  Ere  long,  however,  these  melodious 
festivities  were  abruptly  closed.  News  came  of  the  battle 
of  Jena ;  Russian  foreposts  entered  the  city  ;  Tartars,  Cos- 
sacks, Bashkirs  increased  the  chaos  of  its  population.  In 
due  time,  arrived  French  envoys  to  treat  of  a  surrender ; 
the  Prussians  mounted  guard  with  their  knapsacks  on  ;  and 
one  morning  tidings  spread  over  the  city  that  the  Praga 
bridge  of  boats  was  on  fire,  that  the  Russians  and  Prussians 
were  retiring  on  the  one  side,  and  Murat's  advanced-guard 
entering  by  the  other.  The  rest  is  easy  to  conceive  ;  the 
Prussian  government  was  at  an  end  in  Warsaw ;  Hoffmann's 
Collegium  honestly  divided  the  contents  of  their  strong-box, 
then  closed  the  partnership,  and  dispersed,  each  whither  he 
listed,  to  seek  safety  and  new  employment. 

To  most  of  them  this  was  a  grievous  stroke ;  not  to 
Hoffmann.  For  him,  Warsaw  was  still  a  fine,  variegated 
spectacle ;  he  had  money  enough  for  present  wants ;  of 
the  future  he  took  little  heed,  or  thought  loosely  that  he 
could  live  by  Art,  and  that  Art  was  far  better  than  Law. 
Leaving  his  large  house,  where  his  purse  seemed  hardly 
safe  from  military  violence,  he  took  refuge  in  the  garret  of 
the  Musical  Ressource.  Here  was  his  pianoforte  and  a  library, 
here  his  wife  and  only  child ;  without,  were  Napoleon  and 
his  generals,  reviews,  restaurateurs,  theatres,  churches  with 
musical  works ;  and  abundance  of  fellow-loungers  to  attend 
him  in  these  amusements.  It  was  not  till  after  a  severe 
attack  of  fever,  and    the    most    visible    contraction  of  his 


12  HOFFMANN. 

purse,  that  he  seriously  bethought  him  what  he  wa  sto  do. 
A  sad  enough  outlook!  For  Art,  which  had  seemed  so 
benignant  at  a  distance,  was  shy  and  inaccessible  when 
actually  applied  to  for  bread.  Hitzig  had  hastened  off  to 
Berlin,  and  there  opened  a  book-shop,  in  hope  of  better 
times  ;  but  his  accounts  of  musical  profits  in  that  city  were 
discouraging;  and  for  the  journey  to  Vienna,  which  he  ad- 
vised and  gave  letters  to  forward,  Hoffmann  had  now  no 
funds.  His  uncle  in  Berlin  was  dead  ;  from  little  Otto  noth- 
ing could  be  drawn  ;  the  perplexity  was  thickening,  and  the 
means  of  unravelling  it  were  daily  diminishing.  For  the 
present,  he  resolved  to  leave  his  wife  and  daughter  at  Posen, 
with  their  relations,  and  to  visit  Berlin  himself  in  quest  of 
some  employment. 

In  Berlin  he  could  find  no  employment  whatever,  either 
as  a  portrait-painter,  a  teacher,  or  a  composer  of  music  ; 
meanwhile  the  last  remnant  of  his  cash,  his  poor  six  Fried- 
erichs  d'or,  were  one  night  filched  from  his  trunk ;  and 
news  came  from  Posen,  that  his  little  Cecilia  was  dead,  and 
his  wife  dangerously  ill.  In  this  extremity,  his  heart  for  a 
while  had  nigh  failed  him  ;  but  he  again  gathered  courage, 
and  made  a  fresh  attempt.  He  published  in  the  newspapers 
an  advertisement,  offering  himself  as  Music-director,  on  the 
most  moderate  terms,  in  any  theatre  ;  and  was  happy 
enough,  soon  afterwards,  to  make  an  engagement  of  the 
kind  he  wished,  with  the  managers  of  the  Bamberg  stage, 
at  that  time  under  the  patronage  of  the  Count  von  Soden. 

To  an  ordinary  temper,  this  very  humble  preferment 
would  have  offered  but  a  mortifying  contrast  with  former 
affluence  and  official  respectability.  Hoffmann,  however, 
saw  in  it  the  means  of  realizing  his  long-cherished  wish,  a 
life  devoted  to  Art ;  and  hastened  to  his  Bamberg  musical 
appoinlment  with  gayer  hopes  than  he  had  ever  fixed  on 
any  other  prospect.      Had  money  or  economical  comfort 


HOFFMANN.  gj 

been  his  chief  object,  he  must  have  felt  himself  cruelly  dis- 
appointed ;  mischance  on  mischance  befell  the  Bamberg 
theatre  ;  contradiction  on  the  back  of  contradiction  awaited 
the  new  Music-director,  whose  life,  for  the  next  seven  years, 
differs  in  no  outward  respect  from  that  of  the  most  unpros- 
perous  strolling  player.  Nevertheless,  he  made  no  com- 
plaint; perhaps  he  really  felt  little  sorrow.  "This  must 
do,"  writes  he  in  his  Diary,  u  and  it  will  do ;  for  now  I  shall 
never  more  have  a  Relatio  ex  Actis  to  write  while  I  live, 
and  so  the  Fountain  of  all  Evil  is  dried  up."  In  a  weal- 
thier station  he  might  have  composed  more  operas  and 
painted  more  caricatures ;  but  it  is  possible  enough  the 
world  might  never  have  heard  of  him  as  a  writer.  The 
fate  of  his  first  two  novels  had  perhaps  disgusted  him  with 
authorship  ;  his  studies  at  least  had  long  pointed  to  other 
objects ;  nor  was  it  choice,  but  necessity,  which  now  led 
him  back  to  literature.  After  many  stagnations,  the  Bam- 
berg theatrical  cash-box  had  at  length  become  entirely  insol- 
vent ;  portrait-painting  and  music-teaching  were  inadequate 
to  the  support  of  even  a  frugal  household.  Hoffmann,  who, 
in  all  his  straits,  appears  to  have  disdained  pecuniary  assis- 
tance, now  wrote  to  Rochlitz  of  Leipzig,  Editor  of  the  Mu- 
sicalische  Zeitung  (Musical  Chronicle),  soliciting  employ- 
ment in  this  Work  ;  and,  by  way  of  testimonial,  transmitting 
some  of  his  recent  performances.  The  letter  itself,  written 
with  the. most  fantastic  drollery,  was  testimonial  enough. 
Hoffmann  was  instantly  and  gladly  accepted  ;  and  in  ten 
days  two  essays  were  prepared  and  dispatched  ;  the  first  of 
a  long  series,  afterwards  collected,  enlarged,  and  given  to 
the  world  under  the  title  of  Fantasiestucke,  in  Callous 
Manier  (Fantasy-pieces,  in  the  style  of  Callot*),  with  a  pre- 

*  Some  of  my  readers  may  require   to  be  informed   that  Jacques 
Callot  was  a  Lorraine  painter  of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  a  wild 
VOL.  II.  2 


14 


HOFFMANN. 


face  by  Jean  Paul  Fried  rich  Richter,  to  whom  Hoffmann 
had  paid  a  visit  while  at  Bamberg. 

The  incipient  author  was  delighted  with  his  new  task  ; 
and  Rochlitz  and  his  readers  no  less  so  with  its  execution. 
These  Fantasiestucke  turning  chiefly  on  Music,  exclusively 
on  Art,  were  afterwards  to  make  him  known  to  the  world 
as  a  brilliant  and  peculiar  writer  ;  and  they  served  for  the 
present  to  augment  his  scanty  funds,  to  bring  him  into  favor 
and  employment  as  a  musical  composer,  and  at  last  to  de- 
liver him  from  Bamberg.  In  1813,  by  the  management  of 
Rochlitz,  he  formed  an  engagement  at  Dresden,  again  as 
Music-director,  in  the  theatre  of  one  Seconda.  This  appoint- 
ment he  hailed  as  a  most  propitious  change ;  but  his  thea- 
trical career  was  not  destined  anywhere  to  be  smooth.  Mis- 
fortunes, almost  destruction,  overtook  him  even  on  his 
journey;  Seconda  he  soon  found  to  be  a  driveller;  the 
opera  shifted  from  Dresden  to  Leipzig,  and  from  Leipzig  to 
Dresden  ;  the  country  was  full  of  Cossacks  and  Gens 
d'artnes,  and  Hoffmann's  operatic  melodies  were  drowned 
in  the  loud  clang  of  Napoleon's  battles.  Till  the  end  of 
1814  he  led  a  life  more  chequered  by  hard  vicissitudes  than 
ever  ;  now  quarrelling  with  Seconda,  now  sketching  cari- 
catures of  the  French  ;  now  writing  Fantasies ;  now  looking 
at  Battles  ;  sometimes  sick,  often  in  danger,  generally  light 
of  heart,  and  always  short  of  money.  The  Golden  Pot, 
one  of  the  Fantasiestucke,  which  follows  this  Introduction, 
was  begun  in  Dresden,  shortly  before  the  Battle  of  Leipzig, 
while  the  cannon  of  the  Allies  was  bombarding  the  city  ; 
with  grenadoes  bursting  at  the  writer's  very  hand,  nay  at 
last  driving  him  from  his  garret  into  some  safer  shelter. 

The  revolution  of  Europe,  which  restored  so  many  sove- 

genius,  whose" Temptation  of  St.  Anthony  is  said  to  exceed,  in  chaotic 
incoherence,  that  of  Teniers  himself. 


HOFFMANN.  1  5 

reigns  to  their  thrones,  restored  Hoffmann  to  his  chair  of 
office.  He  arrived  at  Berlin  in  September,  1814  ;  was  pro- 
vided with  employment ;  reinstated  in  his  former  rights  of 
seniority  ;  and  two  years  afterwards  promoted,  in  conse- 
quence, to  be  Rath  in  the  Kammergericht,  or  Exchequer 
Court  of  the  capital. 

Hoffmann's  situation,  after  all  his  buffettings,  might  now 
be  considered  enviable  ;  the  income  of  his  post  was  amply 
sufficient,  and  its  labor  not  excessive ;  his  best  friends  were 
in  his  neighborhood  ;  Hitzig  was  working  with  him  at  the 
same  table  ;  his  public  conduct  was  irreprehensible,  and  his 
literary  fame  was  rapidly  spreading.  The  Fantasiestucke 
were  already  universally  popular ;  the  Elixiere  des  Teufels 
(Devil's  Elixir,  a  novel  in  two  volumes,  since  translated  into 
English)  had  just  been  given  to  the  circulating  libraries  ; 
and  his  opera  of  Undine,  which  Fouque  had  versified  for 
Hoffmann's  music,  was  brought  out  on  the  Berlin  stage 
with  loud  plaudits,  and  reviewed  with  praises  by  Weber 
himself.  Hoffmann  was  happy  ;  and  had  he  been  wise, 
might  still  have  continued  happy  ;  but  he  was  not  wise, 
and  in  this  cup  of  joy  there  lurked  for  him  a  deadly 
poison. 

Berlin,  like  most  other  cities,  prides  itself  in  being  some- 
what of  a  modern  Athens  ;  and  Hoffmann,  the  wonder  of 
the  day,  was  invited  with  the  warmest  blandishments  to  par- 
ticipate in  its  musical  and  literary  tea.  But  in  these  pol- 
ished circles  Hoffmann  prospered  ill  ;  he  was  sharp-tem- 
pered ;  vain,  indeed,  but  transcendently  vain ;  he  required 
the  wittiest  talk,  or  the  most  entire^audience  ;  and  had  a 
heart-hatred  to  inanity,  however  gentle  and  refined.  When 
his  company  grew  tiresome,  he  "  made  the  most  terrific 
faces  ;  "  would  answer  the  languishing  raptures  of  some  per- 
fumed critic  by  an  observation  on  the  weather  ;  would 
transfix  half  a  dozen  harmless  dilettanti  through  the  vitals, 


16  HOFFMANN. 

each  on  his  several  bolt ;  nay,  in  the  end,  give  vent  to  his 
spleen  by  talking  like  a  sheer  maniac  ;  in  short,  never  cease 
till,  one  way  or  other,  the  hapless  circle  was  reduced  to  utter 
desolation.  To  this  intellectual  beverage  he  was  seldom 
twice  invited  ;  and  ere  long  the  musical  and  literary  Tea- 
urn  was  for  him  a  closed  fountain. 

Yet  Hoffmann  could  not  do  without  society,  without  ex- 
citement, and  now  not  well  without  exclusive  admiration. 
His  old  friends  he  had  not  forsaken,  for  he  seldom,  and 
with  difficulty,  got  intimate  with  a  stranger  ;  but  their  quiet 
life  could  not  content  him  ;  it  was  clear  that  the  enjoyment 
he  sought  was  only  to  be  found  among  gay,  laughter-loving 
topers,  as  a  guest  at  their  table,  or,  still  better,  as  their 
sovereign  in  the  wine-house.  "  The  order  of  his  life,  from 
1816  downwards,"  says  his  Biographer,  "  was  this  :  on 
Mondays  and  Thursdays  he  passed  his  forenoons  at  his  post 
in  the  Kammergericht ;  on  other  days  at  home,  in  working  ; 
the  afternoons  he  regularly  spent  in  sleep,  to  which,  in 
summer,  perhaps  he  added  walking ;  the  evenings  and 
nights  were  devoted  to  the  tavern.  Even  when  out  in  com- 
pany, while  the  other  guests  went  home,  he  retired  to  the 
tavern  to  await  the  morning,  before  which  time  it  was  next 
to  impossible  to  bring  him  home."  Strangers  who  came  to 
Berlin  went  to  see  him  in  the  tavern  ;  the  tavern  was  his 
study,  and  his  pulpit,  and  his  throne ;  here  his  wit  flashed 
and  flamed  like  an  Aurora  Borealis,  and  the  table  was  for- 
ever in  a  roar ;  and  thus,  amid  tobacco-smoke,  and  over 
coarse,  earthly  liquor,  was  Hoffmann  wasting  faculties  which 
might  have  seasoned  the  nectar  of  the  gods. 

Poor  Hoffmann  was  on  the  highway  to  ruin  ;  and  the 
only  wonder  is,  that,  with  such  fatal  speed,  he  did  not  reach 
the  goal  even  more  balefully  and  sooner.  His  official 
duties  were  to  the  last  punctually  and  irreproachably  per- 
formed.    He  wrote  more   abundantly  than  ever;  no  Maga- 


HOFFMANN. 


17 


zine  Editor  was  contented  without  his  contributions;  the 
Nachtstucke  (Night-pieces)  were  published  in  1817  ;  two 
years  afterwards  Klein  Zaches,  regarded  (it  would  seem 
falsely)  as  a  local  satire  ;  and  at  last,  between  1819  and 
1821,  appeared  in  four  successive  volumes,  the  Serapions- 
bruder,  containing  most  of  his  smaller  tales,  collected  from 
various  fugitive  publications,  and  combined  together  by 
dialogues  of  the  Serapion-brethren,  a  little  club  of  friends, 
which  for  some  time  met  weekly  in  Hoffmann's  house. 
The  Prinzessin  Brambilla  (1821)  is  properly  another  Fan- 
tasy-piece; The  Lebensaussichten  des  Kater  Murr  (Tom- 
cat Murr's  Philosophy  of  Life),  published  in  1820  and  1821, 
was  meant  by  the  author  as  his  master-work  ;  but  the  third 
volume  is  wanting;  and  the  wild  anarchy,  musical  and 
moral,  said  to  reign  in  the  first  two,  may  forever  remain 
unreconciled. 

Meanwhile,  Hoffmann's  tavern  orgies  continued  unabated, 
and  his  health  at  last  sank  under  them.  In  1819  he  had 
suffered  a  renewed  attack  of  gout ;  from  which,  however, 
he  had  recovered  by  a  journey  to  the  Silesian  baths.  On 
his  forty-fifth  birthday,  the  24th  of  January,  1822,  he  saw 
his  best  and  oldest  friends,  including  Hitzig  and  Hippel, 
assembled  round  his  table ;  but  he  himself  was  sick ;  no 
longer  hurrying  to  and  fro  in  hospitable  assiduity,  as  was 
his  custom,  but  confined  to  his  chair,  and  drinking  bath 
water,  while  his  guests  were  enjoying  wine.  It  was  his 
death  that  lay  upon  him,  and  a  mournful,  lingering  death. 
The  disease  was  a  Tabes  dorsalis ;  limb  by  limb,  from  his 
feet  upwards,  for  five  months,  his  body  stiffened  and  died. 
Hoffmann  bore  his  sufferings  with  inconceivable  gayety  ;  so 
long  as  his  hands  had  power  he  kept  writing  ;  afterwards 
he  dictated  to  an  amanuensis ;  and  four  of  his  Tales,  the 
last,  Der  Feind  (The  Enemy),  discontinued  only  some  few 
days  before  his  death,  were  composed  in  this  melancholy 
2* 


18 


HOFFMANN. 


season.  He  would  not  believe  that  he  was  dying,  and 
he  longed  for  life  with  inexpressible  desire.  On  the  even- 
ing of  the  24th  of  June,  his  whole  body  to  the  neck  had 
become  stiff  and  powerless  ;  no  longer  feeling  pain,  he 
said  to  his  Doctor:  "I  shall  soon  be  through  it  now."  — 
"  Yes,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  you  will  soon  be  through  it." 
Next  morning  he  was  evidently  dying  ;  yet  about  eleven 
o'clock  he  awoke  from  his  stupor ;  cried  that  he  was  well, 
and  would  go  on  with  dictating  the  Feind  that  night ;  at  the 
same  time  calling  on  his  wife  to  read  him  the  passage  where 
he  had  stopt.  She  spoke  to  him  in  kind  dissuasion  ;  he  was 
silent ;  he  motioned  to  be  turned  towards  the  wall ;  and 
scarcely  had  this  been  done,  when  the  fatal  sound  was 
heard  in  his  throat,  and  in  a  few  minutes  Hoffmann  was  no 
more. 

Hoffmann's  was  a  mind  for  which  proper  culture  might 
have  done  great  things ;  there  lay  in  it  the  elements  of  much 
moral  worth,  and  talents  of  almost  the  highest  order.  Nor 
was  it  weakness  of  Will  that  so  far  frustrated  these  fine 
endowments ;  for  in  many  trying  emergencies  he  proved 
that  decision  and  perseverance  of  resolve  were  by  no  means 
denied  him.  Unhappily,  however,  he  had  found  no  sure 
principle  of  action  ;  no  Truth  adequate  to  the  guidance  of 
such  a  mind.  What  in  common  minds  is  called  Prudence 
was  not  wanting,  could  this  have  sufficed  ;  for  it  is  to  be 
observed,  that,  so  long  as  he  was  poor,  so  long  as  the  fetters 
of  every-day  duty  lay  round  him,  Hoffmann  was  diligent,  un- 
blamable, and  even  praiseworthy  ;  but  these  wants  once  sup- 
plied, these  fetters  once  cast  off,  his  wayward  spirit  was  with- 
out fit  direction  or  restraint,  and  its  fine  faculties  rioted  in  wild 
disorder.  In  the  practical  concerns  of  life  he  felt  no  interest ; 
in  religion  he  seems  not  to  have  believed, or  even  disbelieved  ; 
he  never  talked  of  it,  or  would  hear  it  talked  of;  to  politics 


HOFFMANN.  19 

he  was  equally  hostile,  and  equally  a  stranger.  Yet  the 
wages  of  daily  labor,  the  solace  of  his  five  senses,  and  the 
intercourse  of  social  or  gregarious  life,  were  far  from  com- 
pleting his  ideal  of  enjoyment;  his  better  soul  languished  in 
these  barren  scenes,  and  longed  for  some  worthier  home. 
This  home,  unhappily,  he  was  not  destined  to  find.  He 
sought  for  it  in  the  Poetry  of  Art ;  and  the  aim  of  his 
writings,  so  far  as  they  have  any  aim,  as  they  are  not  mere 
interjections,  expressing  the  casual  moods  of  his  mind,  was 
constantly  the  celebration  and  unfolding  of  this  the  best  and 
truest  doctrine  which  he  had  to  preach.  But  here  too  his 
common  failing  seems  to  have  beset  him  ;  he  loved  Art  with 
a  deep  but  scarcely  with  a  pure  love  ;  not  as  the  fountain  of 
Beauty,  but  as  the  fountain  of  refined  Enjoyment ;  he  de- 
manded from  it  not  heavenly  peace,  but  earthly  excitement ; 
as  indeed  through  his  whole  life,  he  had  never  learned  the 
truth  that  for  human  souls  a  continuance  of  passive  pleasure 
is  inconceivable,  has  not  only  been  denied  us  by  Nature, 
but  cannot,  and  could  not  be  granted. 

From  all  this  there  grew  up  in  Hoffmann's  character 
something  player-like,  something  false,  brawling,  and  taw- 
dry, which  we  trace  both  in  his  writings  and  his  conduct. 
His  philosophy  degenerates  into  levity,  his  magnanimity 
into  bombast ;  the  light  of  his  fine  mind  is  not  sunshine, 
but  the  glitter  of  an  artificial  fire-work.  As  in  Art,  so  in 
Life,  he  had  failed  to  discover  that  "  agreeable  sensations" 
are  not  the  highest  good.  His  pursuit  of  these  led  him  into 
many  devious  courses,  and  the  close  of  his  mistaken  pil- 
grimage was  —  the  tavern. 

Yet  if,  in  judging  Hoffmann,  we  are  forced  to  condemn 
him,  let  it  be  with  mildness,  with  justice.  Let  us  not  for- 
get, that,  for  a  mind  like  his,  the  path  of  propriety  was  diffi- 
cult to  find,  still  more  difficult  to  keep.  Moody,  sensi- 
tive,   and    fantastic,  he  wandered    through    the  world    like 


20  HOFFMANN. 

a  foreign  presence,  subject  to  influences  of  which 
common  natures  have  happily  no  glimpse.  A  whole 
scale  of  the  most  wayward  and  unearthly  humors  stands 
recorded  in  his  Diary  ;  his  head  was  forever  swarming 
with  beautiful  or  horrible  chimeras ;  a  common  incident 
could  throw  his  whole  being  into  tumult,  a  distorted  face  or 
figure  would  abide  with  him  for  days,  and  rule  over  him 
like  a  spell.  It  was  not  things,  but  "  the  shows  of  things," 
that  he  saw  ;  and  the  world  and  its  business,  in  which  he 
had  to  live  and  move,  often  hovered  before  him  like  a  per- 
plexed and  spectral  vision.  Withal  it  should  be  remembered, 
that,  though  never  delivered  from  Self,  he  was  not  cruel  or 
unjust,  nor  incapable  of  generous  actions  and  the  deepest 
attachment.  His  harshness  was  often  misinterpreted  ;  for 
heat  of  temper  deformed  the  movements  of  kindness  ;  mock- 
ery also  was  the  dialect  in  which  he  spoke  and  even  thought ; 
and  often,  under  a  calm  or  bitter  smile,  he  could  veil  the 
wounds  of  a  bleeding  heart.  A  good  or  a  wise  man  we 
must  not  call  him  ;  but  to  others  his  presence  was  benefi- 
cent, his  injuries  were  to  himself;  and  among  the  ordinary 
population  of  this  world  to  note  him  with  the  mark  of  repro- 
bation were  ungrateful  and  unjust. 

His  genius  formed  the  most  important  element  of  his 
character,  and  of  course  participated  in  its  faults.  There 
are  the  materials  of  a  glorious  poet,  but  no  poet  has  been 
fashioned  out  of  them.  His  mind  was  not  cultivated  or 
brought  under  his  own  dominion  ;  we  admire  the  rich  ingre- 
dients of  it,  and  regret  that  they  were  never  purified,  and 
fused  into  a  whole.  His  life  was  disjointed  ;  he  had  to  la- 
bor for  his  bread,  and  he  followed  three  different  arts ;  what 
wonder  that  in  none  of  them  he  should  attain  perfection  ? 
Accordingly,  except  perhaps  as  a  musician,  the  critics  of 
his  country  deny  him  the  name  of  an  Artist ;  as  a  poet,  he 
aimed  but  at  popularity,  and  has   attained   little  more.     H  is 


HOFFMANN.  21 

intellect  is  seldom  strong,  and  that  only  in  glimpses  ;  his 
abundant  humor  is  too  often  false  and  local  ;  his  rich  and 
gorgeous  fancy  is  continually  distorted  into  crotchets  and 
caprices.  In  fact,  he  elaborated  nothing  ;  above  all,  not 
himself.  His  knowledge,  except  in  the  sphere  of  Art,  is 
not  extensive  ;  for  an  author,  he  had  read  but  little  ;  criti- 
cisms, even  of  his  own  works,  he  never  looked  into  ;  and 
except  Richter,  whom  he  saw  only  once,  he  seems  never  to 
have  met  with  any  individual  whose  conversation  could  in- 
struct or  direct  him.  Human  nature  he  had  studied  only  as 
a  caricature  painter;  men,  it  is  said,  in  fact  interested  him 
chiefly  as  mimetic  objects  ;  their  common  doings  and  des- 
tiny were  without  beauty  for  him,  and  he  observed  and 
copied  them  only  in  their  extravagancies  and  ludicrous  dis- 
tortions. His  works  were  written  with  incredible  speed, 
and  they  bear  many  marks  of  haste  ;  it  is  seldom  that  any 
piece  is  perfected,  that  its  brilliant  and  often  genuine  ele- 
ments are  blended  in  harmonious  union.  On  the  largest  of 
his  completed  Novels,  the  Elixiere  des  Teufels,  he  himself 
set  no  value  ;  and  the  Kater  Murr,  which  he  meant  for  a 
higher  object,  he  did  not  live  to  finish,  nor  is  it  thought  he 
could  have  finished  it.  His  smaller  pieces  were  mostly 
written  for  transitory  publications,  and  too  often  with  only  a 
transitory  excellence.  We  do  not  read  them  without  inter- 
est, without  high  amusement,  but  the  second  reading  pleases 
worse  than  the  first ;  for  there  is  too  little  meaning  in  that 
bright  extravagance  ;  it  is  but  the  hurried  copy  of  the 
phantasms  which  forever  masqueraded  through  the  author's 
mind  ;  it  less  resembles  the  creation  of  a  poet,  than  the 
dream  of  an  opium-eater. 

With  these  faults  a  rigorous  criticism  may  charge  Hoff- 
mann, and  this  the  more  strictly,  the  greater  his  talent,  the 
more  undoubted  his  capability  and  obligation  to  avoid  them. 
At  the  same  time  to  reject  his  claim,  as  has  been  done,  to 


22 


HOFFMANN. 


what  the  poets  call  their  immortality,  seems  hard  measure. 
If  Callot  and  Teniers,  his  models,  still  figure  in  picture 
galleries  ;  if  Rabelais  continues,  after  centuries,  to  be  read, 
and  even  the  Caliph  Vathek,  after  decades,  still  finds  admir- 
ers, the  products  of  a  mind  so  brilliant,  wild,  and  singular, 
as  that  of  Hoffmann,  may  long  hover  in  the  remembrance 
of  the  world,  as  objects  of  curiosity,  of  censure,  and,  on 
the  whole,  compared  with  absolute  Nonentity,  of  entertain- 
ment and  partial  approval.  For  the  present,  at  least,  as  a 
child  of  his  time  and  his  country,  he  is  not  to  be  overlook- 
ed in  any  survey  of  German  Literature,  and  least  of  all  by 
the  foreign  student  of  it. 

Among  Hoffmann's  shorter  performances,  I  find  Meister 
Martin  noted  by  his  critics  as  the  most  perfect ;  it  is  a  story 
of  ancient  Nurnberg,  and  worked  up  in  a  style  which  even 
reminds  us  of  the  Author  of  Waverley.  Nevertheless,  I 
have  selected  this  Goldne  Topf,  as  likelier  to  interest  the 
English  reader;  it  has  more  of  the  faults,  but  also  more  of 
the  excellencies  peculiar  to  its  author,  and  exhibits  a  much 
truer  picture  of  his  individuality.  To  recommend  it,  criti- 
cisms would  be  unvailing;  there  is  no  deep  art  involved  in 
its  composition ;  to  minds  alive  to  the  graces  of  Fancy,  and 
disposed  to  pardon  even  its  aberrations  when  splendid  and 
kindly,  this  Mahrchen  will  speak  its  whole  meaning  for 
itself,  and  to  others  it  has  little  or  nothing  to  say.  The 
most  tolerant  will  see  in  it  much  to  pardon  ;  but  even  under 
its  present  disadvantages  they  may  perhaps  recognize  in  it 
the  erratic  footsteps  of  a  poet,  and  lament  with  me  that  his 
course  has  ended  so  far  short  of  the  goal. 


THE    GOLDEN    POT. 


FIRST    VIGIL. 

The  Mishaps  of  the   Student  Anselmus.     Conrector  Paul- 
manrCs  Tobacco-box,  and  the  Gold-green  Snakes. 

On  Ascension-day,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
there  came  a  young  man  running  through  the  Schwarzthor, 
or  Black  Gate,  out  of  Dresden,  and  right  into  a  basket  of 
apples  and  cakes,  which  an  old  and  very  ugly  woman  was 
there  exposing  to  sale.  The  crash  was  prodigious  ;  all  that 
escaped  being  squelched  to  pieces  was  scattered  away,  and 
the  street-urchins  joyfully  divided  the  booty  which  this  quick 
gentleman  had  thrown  them.  At  the  murder-shriek  which 
the  crone  set  up,  her  gossips,  leaving  their  cake  and  brandy 
tables,  encircled  the  young  man,  and  with  plebeian  violence 
stormfully  scolded  him  ;  so  that,  for  shame  and  vexation,  he 
uttered  no  word,  but  merely  held  out  his  small,  and  by  no 
means  particularly  well-filled  purse,  which  the  crone  eagerly 
clutched,  and  stuck  into  her  pocket.  The  firm  ring  now 
opened  ;  but  as  the  young  man  started  off,  the  crone  called 
after  him  :  "  Ay,  run,  run  thy  ways,  thou  Devil's  bird  !  To 
the  Crystal  run  !  to  the  Crystal !  "  The  squealing,  creaking 
voice  of  the  woman  had  something  unearthly  in  it  ;  so  that 
the  promenaders  paused  in  amazement,  and  the  laugh,  which 
at  first  had  been  universal,  instantly  died  away.  The  Stu- 
dent Anselmus,  for  the  young  man   was   no  other,  felt  him- 


24  hoff?:ann. 

self,  though  he  did  not  in  the  least  understand  these  singular 
phrases,  nevertheless  seized  with  a  certain  involuntary 
horror  ;  and  he  quickened  his  steps  still  more,  to  escape  the 
curious  looks  of  the  multitude,  which  were  all  turned  to- 
wards him.  As  he  worked  his  way  through  the  crowd  of 
well-dressed  people,  he  heard  them  murmuring  on  all  sides: 
"  Poor  young  fellow  !  Ha  !  what  a  cursed  beldam  it  is  !  n 
The  mysterious  words  of  the  crone  had  oddly  enough  given 
this  ludicrous  adventure  a  sort  of  tragic  turn  ;  and  the  youth, 
before  unobserved,  was  now  looked  after  with  a  certain 
sympathy.  The  ladies,  for  his  fine  shape  and  handsome 
face,  which  the  glow  of  inward  anger  was  rendering  still 
more  expressive,  forgave  him  this  awkward  step,  as  well  as 
the  dress  he  wore,  though  it  was  utterly  at  variance  with  all 
mode.  His  pike-gray  frock  was  shaped  as  if  the  tailor  had 
known  the  modern  form  only  by  hearsay  ;  and  his  well- 
kept,  black  satin  lower  habiliments  gave  the  whole  a  certain 
pedagogic  air,  to  which  the  gait  and  gesture  of  the  wearer 
did  not  at  all  correspond. 

The  Student  had  almost  reached  the  end  of  the  alley 
which  leads  out  to  the  Linke  Bath  ;  but  his  breath  could 
stand  such  a  rate  no  longer.  From  running  he  took  to 
walking ;  but  scarcely  did  he  yet  dare  to  lift  an  eye  from 
the  ground  ;  for  he  still  saw  apples  and  cakes  dancing  round 
him  ;  and  every  kind  look  from  this  or  that  fair  damsel  was 
to  him  but  the  reflex  of  the  mocking  laughter  at  the 
Schwarzthor.  In  this  mood,  he  had  got  to  the  entrance  of  the 
Bath  ;  one  group  of  holiday  people  after  the  other  were 
moving  in.  Music  of  wind-instruments  resounded  from  the 
place,  and  the  din  of  merry  guests  was  growing  louder  and 
louder.  The  poor  Student  Anselmus  was  almost  on  the 
point  of  weeping  ;  for  he  too  had  expected,  Ascension-day 
having  always  been  a  family-festival  with  him,  to  participate 
in  the  felicities  of  the  Linkean  paradise;   nay,  he  had   pur- 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  25 

posed  even  to  go  the  length  of  a  half  portion  of  coffee  with 
rum,  and  a  whole  bottle  of  double  beer  ;  and  that  he  might 
carouse  at  his  ease,  had  put  more  money  in  his  purse  than 
was  entirely  convenient  or  advisable.  And  now,  by  this 
fatal  step  into  the  apple-basket,  all  that  he  had  about  him 
had  been  swept  away.  Of  coffee,  of  double  or  single  beer, 
of  music,  of  looking  at  the  bright  damsels,  in  a  word,  of 
all  his  fancied  enjoyments,  there  was  now  nothing  more  to 
be  said.  He  glided  slowly  past ;  and  at  last  turned  down 
the  Elbe  road,  which  at  that  time  happened  to  be  quite 
solitary. 

Beneath  an  elder-tree,  which  had  grown  out  through  the 
wall,  he  found  a  kind,  green  resting-place  ;  here  he  sat 
down,  and  filled  a  pipe  from  the  Sanitatsknaster,  or  Health- 
tobacco-box,  of  which  his  friend  the  Conrector  Paulmann 
had  lately  made  him  a  present.  Close  before  him  rolled 
and  chafed  the  gold-dyed  waves  of  the  fair  Elbe-stream  ; 
behind  this  rose  lordly  Dresden,  stretching,  bold  and  proud, 
its  light  towers  into  the  airy  sky  ;  which  again,  farther  off, 
bent  itself  down  towards  flowery  meads  and  fresh  springing 
woods;  and  in  the  dim  distance  a  range  of  azure  peaks 
gave  notice  of  remote  Bohemia.  But,  heedless  of  this,  the 
Student  Anselmus,  looking  gloomily  before  him,  blew  forth 
his  smoky  clouds  into  the  air.  His  chagrin  at  length  be- 
came audible,  and  he  said  :  "  Of  a  truth,  I  am  born  to  losses 
and  crosses  for  my  life  long  !  That  in  boyhood,  at  Odds 
or  Evens,  I  could  never  once  guess  the  right  way;  that  my 
bread  and  butter  always  fell  on  the  buttered  side  ;  of  all 
these  sorrows  I  will  not  speak  ;  but  is  it  not  a  frightful 
destiny,  that  now,  when,  in  spite  of  Satan,  I  have  become 
a  student,  I  must  still  be  a  jolthead  as  before  ?  Do  I  ever 
put  a  new  coat  on  without  the  first  day  smearing  it  with 
tallow,  or  on  some  ill-fastened  nail  or  other  tearing  a  cursed 
hole  in  it  ?      Do  I  ever  bow  to  any  Councillor  or  any  lady 

VOL.  II.  3 


26  HOFFMANN. 

without  pitching  the  hat  out  of  my  hands,  or  even  sliding 
away  on  the  smooth  pavement,  and  shamefully  oversetting? 
Had  I  not  every  market-day  while  in  Halle  a  regular  sum 
of  from  three  to  four  groschen  to  pay  for  broken  pottery, 
the  Devil  putting  it  into  my  head  to  walk  straight  forward, 
like  a  leming-rat  ?  Have  I  ever  once  got  to  my  college, 
or  any  place  I  was  appointed  to,  at  the  right  time  ?  What 
availed  it  that  I  set  out  half  an  hour  before,  and  planted 
myself  at  the  door,  with  the  knocker  in  my  hand  ?  Just  as 
the  clock  is  going  to  strike,  souse !  some  Devil  pours  a 
wash-basin  down  on  me,  or  I  bolt  against  some  fellow  com- 
ing out,  and  get  myself  engaged  in  endless  quarrels  till  the 
time  is  clean  gone. 

"Ah  !  well-a-day  !  whither  are  ye  fled,  ye  blissful  dreams 
of  coming  fortune,  when  I  proudly  thought  that  here  I  might 
even  reach  the  height  of  Privy  Secretary  ?  And  has  not 
my  evil  star  estranged  from  me  my  best  patrons  ?  I  learn, 
for  instance,  that  the  Councillor,  to  whom  I  have  a  letter, 
cannot  suffer  cropt  hair;  with  immensity  of  trouble  the 
barber  fastens  me  a  little  cue  to  my  hindhead  ;  but  at  the 
first  bow  his  unblessed  knot  gives  way,  and  a  little  shock, 
running  snuffing  about  me,  frisks  off  to  the  Privy  Councillor 
with  the  cue  in  its  mouth.  I  spring  after  it  in  terror ;  and 
stumble  against  the  table,  where  he  has  been  working  while 
at  breakfast ;  and  cups,  plates,  ink-glass,  sand-box,  rush 
jingling  to  the  floor,  and  a  flood  of  chocolate  and  ink  over- 
flows the  Relation  he  has  just  been  writing.  •  Is  the  Devil 
in  the  man?'  bellows  the  furious  Privy  Councillor,  and 
shoves  me  out  of  the  room. 

"  What  avails  it  that  Conrector  Paulmann  gave  me  hopes 
of  a  writership  ;  will  my  malignant  fate  allow  it,  which 
everywhere  pursues  me  ?  To-day  even  !  Do  but  think  of 
it !  I  was  purposing  to  hold  my  good  old  Ascension-day 
with  right  cheerfulness  of  soul  ;  I  would  stretch  a  point  for 


THE    GOLDEN    POT. 


27 


once  ;  I  might  have  gone,  as  well  as  any  other  guest,  into 
Linke's  Bath,  and  called  out  proudly  :  c  Marqueur  !  a  bottle 
of  double-beer ;  best  sort,  if  you  please  ! '  I  might  have 
sat  till  far  in  the  evening  ;  and,  moreover,  close  by  this  or 
that  fine  party  of  well-dressed  ladies.  I  know  it,  I  feel  it! 
heart  would  have  come  into  me,  I  should  have  been  quite 
another  man  ;  uay,  I  might  have  carried  it  so  far,  that,  when 
one  or  other  of  them  asked,  '  What  o'clock  may  it  be  ? '  or 
4  What  is  it  they  are  playing?'  I  should  have  started  up 
with  light  grace,  and  without  overturning  my  glass,  or  stum- 
bling over  the  bench,  but  in  a  curved  posture,  moving  one 
step  and  a  half  forward,  I  should  have  answered,  '  Give 
me  leave,  Mademoiselle!  it  is  the  overture  of  the  Donan- 
vwibchen;'  or,  '  It  is  just  going  to  strike  six.'  Could  any 
mortal  in  the  world  have  taken  it  ill  of  me?  No!  I  say  . 
the  girls  would  have  looked  over,  smiling  so  roguishly;  as 
they  always  do  when  I  pluck  up  heart  to  show  them  that 
I  too  understand  the  light  tone  of  society,  and  know  how 
ladies  should  be  spoken  to.  And  now  the  Devil  himself 
leads  me  into  that  cursed  apple-basket,  and  now  must  I 
sit  moping  in  solitude,  with  nothing  but  a  poor  pipe  of — " 
Here  the  Student  Anselmus  was  interrupted  in  his  soliloquy 
by  a  strange  rustling  and  whisking,  which  rose  close  by  him 
in  the  grass,  but  soon  glided  up  into  the  twigs  and  leaves 
of  the  elder-tree  that  stretched  out  over  his  head.  It  was 
as  if  the  evening  wind  were  shaking  the  leaves;  as  if  little 
birds  were  twittering  among  the  branches,  moving  their 
little  wings  in  capricious  flutter  to  and  fro.  Then  he  heard 
a  whispering  and  lisping;  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  blossoms 
were  sounding  like  little  crystal  bells.  Anselmus  listened 
and  listened.  Ere  long,  the  whispering,  and  lisping,  and 
tinkling,  he  himself  knew  not  how,  grew  to  faint  and  half- 
scattered  words  : 

"  'Twixt  this   way,  'twixt  that ;    'twixt  branches,  'twix 


28 


HOFFMANN. 


blossoms,  come  shoot,  come  twist  and  twirl  we  !  Sisterkin, 
sisterkin  !  up  to  the  shine  ;  up,  down,  through  and  through, 
quick!  Sun-rays  yellow;  evening-wind  whispering ;  dew- 
drops  pattering  ;  blossoms  all  singing  ;  sing  we  with  branches 
and  blossoms  !  Stars  soon  glitter  ;  must  down ;  'twixt  this 
way,  'twixt  that,  come  shoot,  come  twist,  come  twirl  we, 
sisterkin ! " 

And  so  it  went  along,  in  confused  and  confusing  speech. 
The  Student  Anselmus  thought :  "  Well,  it  is  but  the  evening- 
wind,  which  to-night  truly  is  whispering  distinctly  enough." 
But  at  that  moment  there  sounded  over  his  head,  as  it  were, 
a  triple  harmony  of  clear,  crystal  bells;  he  looked  up,  and 
perceived  three  little  Snakes,  glittering  with  green  and  gold, 
twisted  round  the  branches,  and  stretching  out  their  heads 
to  the  evening  sun.  Then,  again,  began  a  whispering  and 
twittering  in  the  same  words  as  before,  and  the  little  Snakes 
went  gliding  and  caressing  up  and  down  through  the  twigs  ; 
and  while  they  moved  so  rapidly,  it  was  as  if  the  elder-bush 
were  scattering  a  thousand  glittering  emeralds  through  the 
dark  leaves. 

"  It  is  the  evening  sun  which  sports  so  in  the  elderbush," 
thought  the  Student  Anselmus ;  but  the  bells  sounded  again  ; 
and  Anselmus  observed  that  one  Snake  held  out  its  little 
head  to  him.  Through  all  his  limbs  there  went  a  shock  like 
electricity  ;  he  quivered  in  his  inmost  heart ;  he  kept  gazing 
up,  and  a  pair  of  glorious  dark-blue  eyes  were  looking 
at  him  with  unspeakable  longing  ;  and  an  unknown  feeling 
of  highest  blessedness  and  deepest  sorrow  was  like  to  rend 
his  heart  asunder.  And  as  he  looked,  and  still  looked,  full  of 
warm  desire,  into  these  kind  eyes,  the  crystal  bells  sounded 
louder  in  harmonious  accord,  and  the  glittering  emeralds  fell 
down  and  encircled  him,  flickering  round  him  in  thousand 
sparkles,  and  sporting  in  resplendent  threads  of  gold.  The 
Elderbush  moved  and  spoke  ;  "  Thou  layest  in  my  shadow  ; 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  29 

my  perfume  flowed  round  thee,  but  thou  understoodst  it  not. 
The  perfume  is  my  speech,  when  Love  kindles  it."  The 
Evening  Wind  came  gliding  past,  and  said  :  "  I  played 
round  thy  temples,  but  thou  understoodst  me  not.  That 
breath  is  my  speech,  when  Love  kindles  it."  The  Sun- 
beam broke  through  the  clouds,  and  the  sheen  of  it  burnt, 
as  in  words  :  "  I  overflowed  thee  with  glowing  gold,  but  thou 
understoodst  me  not.  That  glow  is  my  speech,  when  Love 
kindles  it." 

And,  still  deeper  and  deeper  sunk  in  the  view  of  these 
glorious  eyes,  his  longing  grew  keener,  his  desire  more 
warm.  And  all  rose  and  moved  around  him,  as  if  awakening 
to  glad  life.  Flowers  and  blossoms  shed  their  odors  round 
him  ;  and  their  odor  was  like  the  lordly  singing  of  a 
thousand  softest  voices  ;  and  what  they  sung  was  borne  like  an 
echo  on  the  golden  evening  clouds,  as  they  flitted  away 
into  far-off  lands.  But  as  the  last  sunbeam  abruptly  sank 
behind  the  hill,  and  the  twilight  threw  its  veil  over  the 
scene,  there  came  a  hoarse,  deep  voice,  as  from  a  great 
distance  : 

"  Hey  !  hey  !  what  chattering  and  jingling  is  that  up 
there  ?  Hey  !  hey  !  who  catches  me  the  ray  behind  the 
hills  ?  Sunned  enough,  sung  enough.  Hey  !  hey  !  through 
bush  and  grass,  through  grass  and  stream.  Hey  !  hey ! 
Come  dow-w-n,  dow-w-w-n  !  " 

So  faded  the  voice  away,  as  in  murmurs  of  a  distant 
thunder  ;  but  the  crystal  bells  broke  off  in  sharp  discords. 
All  became  mute ;  and  the  Student  Anselmus  observed 
how  the  three  Snakes,  glittering  and  sparkling,  glided 
through  the  grass  towards  the  river  ;  rustling  and  hustling, 
they  rushed  into  the  Elbe  ;  and  over  the  waves  where  they 
vanished  there  crackled  up  a  green  flame,  which,  gleaming 
forward  obliquely,  vanished  in  the  direction  of  the  city. 
3* 


30 


HOFFMANN. 


SECOND    VIGIL. 


How  the  Student  Anselmus  was  looked  upon  as  drunk  and 
mad.  Tlte  crossing  of  the  Elbe.  Bandmaster  Graun's 
Bravura.  ConradVs  Sto?nachic  Liqueur,  and  the  bronzed 
Apple-woman. 

"  The  gentleman  is  ailing  some  way  !  "  said  a  decent 
burgher's  wife,  who,  returning  from  a  walk  with  her  family, 
had  paused  here,  and,  with  crossed  arms,  was  looking  at 
the  mad  pranks  of  the  Student  Anselmus.  Anselmus  had 
clasped  the  trunk  of  the  elder-tree,  and  was  calling  incessantly 
up  to  the  branches  and  leaves  :  "  O  glitter  and  shine  once 
more,  ye  dear  gold  Snakes  ;  let  me  hear  your  little  bell- 
voices  once  more  !  Look  on  me  once  more,  ye  kind  eyes  ; 
O  once,  or  I  must  die  in  pain  and  warm  longing ! "  And 
with  this  he  was  sighing  and  sobbing  from  the  bottom  of 
his  heart  most  pitifully  ;  and  in  his  eagerness  and  impa- 
tience shaking  the  elder-tree  to  and  fro;  which,  however, 
instead  of  any  reply,  rustled  quite  stupidly  and  unintelligibly 
with  its  leaves ;  and  so  rather  seemed,  as  it  were,  to  make 
sport  of  the  Student  Anselmus  and  his  sorrows. 

"  The  gentleman  is  ailing  some  way  !  "  said  the  burgh- 
er's wife  ;  and  Anselmus  felt  as  if  you  had  shaken  him  out 
of  a  deep  dream,  or  poured  ice-cold  water  on  him,  that  he 
might  awaken  without  loss  of  time.  He  now  first  saw 
clearly  where  he  was ;  and  recollected  what  a  strange 
apparition  had  assaulted  him,  nay,  so  beguiled  his  senses 
as  to  make  him  break  forth  into  loud  talk  with  himself.  In 
astonishment  he  gazed  at  the  woman  ;  and  at  last  snatching 
up  his  hat,  which  had  fallen  to  the  ground  in  his  transport, 
was  fox  making  off  in  all  speed.  The  burgher  himself  had 
come  forward  in  the   mean  while  ;    and,   setting   down   the 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  3  1 

child  from  his  arm  on  the  grass,  had  been  leaning  on  his 
staff,  and  with  amazement  listening  and  looking  at  the 
Student.  He  now  picked  up  the  pipe  and  tobacco-box 
which  the  Student  had  let  fall,  and,  holding  them  out  to 
him,  said  :  "  Don't  take  on  so  dreadfully,  my  worthy  Sir,  or 
alarm  people  in  the  dark,  when  nothing  is  the  matter,  after 
all,  but  a  drop  or  two  of  Christian  liquor  ;  go  home,  like  a 
pretty  man,  and  take  a  nap  of  sleep  on  it." 

The  Student  Anselmus  felt  exceedingly  ashamed  ;  he 
uttered  nothing  but  a  most  lamentable  "  Ah  ! "  • 

"  Pooh  !  Pooh  !  "  said  the  burgher,  u  never  mind  it  a  jot ; 
such  a  thing  will  happen  to  the  best ;  on  good  old  Ascen- 
sion-day a  man  may  readily  enough  forget  himself  in  his 
joy,  and  gulp  down  a  thought  too  much.  A  clergyman 
himself  is  no  worse  for  it ;  I  presume,  my  worthy  Sir,  you 
are  a  Candidatus.  — But,  with  your  leave,  Sir,  I  shall  fill 
my  pipe  with  your  tobacco  ;  mine  went  done  a  little  while 
ago." 

This  last  sentence  the  burgher  uttered  while  the  Student 
Anselmus  was  about  putting  up  his  pipe  and  box  ;  and  now 
the  burgher  slowly  and  deliberately  cleaned  his  pipe,  and 
began  as  slowly  to  fill  it.  Several  burgher  girls  had  come 
up  ;  these  were  speaking  secretly  with  the  woman  and  each 
other,  and  tittering  as  they  looked  at  Anselmus.  The  Stu- 
dent felt  as  if  he  were  standing  on  prickly  thorns  and 
burning  needles.  No  sooner  had  he  got  back  his  pipe 
and  tobacco-box,  than  he  darted  off  at  the  height  of  his 
speed. 

All  the  strange  things  he  had  seen  were  clean  gone  from 
his  memory  ;  he  simply  recollected  having  babbled  all  man- 
ner of  foolish  stuff  beneath  the  elder-tree.  This  was  the 
more  frightful  to  him,  as  he  entertained  from  of  old  an 
inward  horror  against  all  soliloquists.  It  is  Satan  that 
chatters   out  of  them,  said   his  Rector;  and  Anselmus  had 


32  HOFFMANN. 

honestly  believed  him.  But  to  be  regarded  as  a  Candida- 
tus  Theologice  overtaken  with  drink  on  Ascension-day  ! 
The  thought  was  intolerable. 

Running  on  with  these  mad  vexations,  he  was  just  about 
turning  up  the  Poplar  Alley,  by  the  Kosel  garden,  when  a 
voice  behind  him  called  out :  "  Herr  Anselmus  !  Herr  Ansel- 
mus  !  for  the  love  of  Heaven,  whither  are  you  running  in 
such  haste?"  The  Student  paused,  as  if  rooted  to  the 
ground  ;  for  he  was  convinced  that  now  some  new  mis- 
chance Would  befall  him.  The  voice  rose  again  :  "  Herr 
Anselmus,  come  back,  then  ;  we  are  waiting  for  you  here 
at  the  water !  "  And  now  the  Student  perceived  that  it 
was  his  friend  Conrector  Paulmann's  voice  ;  he  went  back 
to  the  Elbe ;  and  found  the  Conrector,  with  his  two  daugh- 
ters, as  well  as  Registrator  Heerbrand,  all  on  the  point  of 
stepping  into  their  gondola.  Conrector  Paulmann  invited 
the  Student  to  go  with  them  across  the  Elbe,  and  then  to 
pass  the  evening  at  his  house  in  the  Pima  suburb.  The 
Student  Anselmus  very  gladly  accepted  this  proposal ;  think- 
ing thereby  to  escape  the  malignant  destiny  which  had 
ruled  over  him  all  day. 

Now,  as  they  were  crossing  the  river,  it  chanced,  that,  on 
the  farther  bank,  in  the  Anton  garden,  a  firework  was  just 
going  off.  Sputtering  and  hissing,  the  rockets  went  aloft, 
and  their  blazing  stars  flew  to  pieces  in  the  air,  scattering  a 
thousand  vague  shoots  and  flashes  round  them.  The  Stu- 
dent Anselmus  was  sitting  by  the  steersman,  sunk  in  deep 
thought  ;  but  when  he  noticed  in  the  water  the  reflection  of 
these  darting  and  wavering  sparks  and  flames,  he  felt  as  if 
it  was  the  little  golden  Snakes  that  were  sporting  in  the 
flood.  All  the  wonders  that  he  had  seen  at  the  elder-tree 
again  started  forth  into  his  heart  and  thoughts;  and  again 
that  unspeakable  longing,  that  glowing  desire,  laid  hold  of 
him  here,  which  had  before  agitated  his  bosom  in  painful 
spasms  of  rapture. 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  33 

"Ah!  is  it  you  again,  my  little  golden  Snakes?  Sing 
now,  O  sing  !  In  your  song  let  the  kind,  dear,  dark-blue 
eyes  again  appear  to  me  —  Ah  !  are  ye  under  the  waves, 
then  ?  " 

So  cried  the  Student  Anselmus,  and  at  the  same  time 
made  a  violent  movement,  as  if  he  were  for  plunging  from 
the  gondola  into  the  river. 

"  Is  the  Devil  in  you,  Sir?"  exclaimed  the  steersman, 
and  clutched  him  by  the  coat-breast.  The  girls,  who  were 
sitting  by  him,  shrieked  in  terror,  and  fled  to  the  other  side 
of  the  gondola.  Registrator  Heerbrand  whispered  some- 
thing in  Conrector  Paulmann's  ear,  to  which  the  latter 
answered  at  considerable  length,  but  in  so  low  a  tone,  that 
Anselmus  could  distinguish  nothing  but  the  words:  "  Such 
attacks  more  than  once  ?  —  Never  heard  of  it."  Directly 
after  this,  Conrector  Paulmann  also  rose ;  and  then  sat 
down,  with  a  certain  earnest,  grave,  official  mien,  beside 
the  Student  Anselmus,  taking  his  hand,  and  saying : 
"How  are  you,  Herr  Anselmus?"  The  Student  An- 
selmus was  like  to  lose  his  wits,  for  in  his  mind  there 
was  a  mad  contradiction,  which  he  strove  in  vain  to  re- 
concile. He  now  saw  plainly  that  what  he  had  taken 
for  the  gleaming  of  the  golden  Snakes  was  nothing  but  the 
image  of  the  fireworks  in  Anton's  garden  ;  but  a  feeling 
unexperienced  till  now,  he  himself  knew  not  whether  it  was 
rapture  or  pain,  cramped  his  breast  together;  and  when  the 
steersman  struck  through  the  water  with  his  helm,  so  that 
the  waves,  curling  as  in  anger,  gurgled  and  chafed,  he  heard 
in  their  din  a  soft  whispering:  "Anselmus!  Anselmus 
seest  thou  not  how  we  still  skim  along  before  thee  ?  Sister 
kin  looks  at  thee  again  ;  believe,  believe,  believe  in  us  ! ' 
And  he  thought  he  saw  in  the  reflected  light  three  green 
glowing  streaks  ;  but  then,  when  he  gazed,  full  of  fond  sad 
ness,  into  the  water,  to  see  whether  these  gentle  eyes  would 


34  HOFFMANN. 

not  again  look  up  to  him,  he  perceived  too  well  that  the 
shine  proceeded  only  from  the  windows  in  the  neighboring 
houses.  He  was  sitting  mute  in  his  place,  and  inwardly- 
battling  with  himself,  when  Conrector  Paulmann  repeated, 
with  still  greater  emphasis :  "  How  are  you,  Herr  Ansel- 
mus  ?  " 

With  the  most  rueful  tone,  Anselmus  replied:  "Ah! 
Herr  Conrector,  if  you  knew  what  strange  things  I  have 
been  dreaming,  quite  awake,  with  open  eyes,  just  now, 
under  an  elder-tree  at  the  wall  of  Linke's  garden,  you  would 
not  take  it  amiss  of  me  that  I  am  a  little  absent  or  so." 

"Ey,  ey,  Herr  Anselmus!  "  interrupted  Conrector  Paul- 
mann, "  I  have  always  taken  you  for  a  solid  young  man  ; 
but  to  dream,  to  dream  with  your  eyes  wide  open,  and  then, 
all  at  once,  to  start  up  for  leaping  into  the  water !  This, 
begging  your  pardon,  is  what  only  fools  or  madmen  could 
do." 

The  Student  Anselmus  was  deeply  affected  at  his  friend's 
hard  saying  ;  then  Veronica,  Paulmann's  eldest  daughter, 
a  most  pretty,  blooming  girl  of  sixteen,  addressed  her 
father  :  "  But,  dear  father,  something  singular  must  have 
befallen  Herr  Anselmus ;  and  perhaps  he  only  thinks  he 
was  awake,  while  he  may  have  really  been  asleep,  and  so 
all  manner  of  wild  stuff  has  come  into  his  head,  and  is  still 
lying  in  his  thoughts." 

"  And,  dearest  Mademoiselle  !  Worthy  Conrector ! " 
cried  Registrator  Heerbrand,  "  may  one  not,  even  when 
awake,  sometimes  sink  into  a  sort  of  dreaming  state?  I 
myself  have  had  such  fits.  One  afternoon,  for  instance, 
during  coffee,  in  a  sort  of  brown  study  like  this,  in  the 
special  season  of  corporeal  and  spiritual  digestion,  the  place 
where  a  lost  Act  was  lying  occurred  to  me,  as  if  by  inspira- 
tion ;  and  last  night,  no  farther  gone,  there  came  a  glorious 
large  Latin  paper  tripping  out  before  my  open  eyes  in  the 
very  same  way." 


THE    GCLDEN    POT.  35 

"Ah!  most  honored  Registrator,"  answered  Conrector 
Paulmann,  "you  have  always  had  a  tendency  to  the 
Poetica;  and  thus  one  falls  into  fantasies  and  romantic  hu- 
mors." 

The  Student  Anselmus,   however,  was  particularly  grati- 
fied  that  in   this   most  troublous  situation,  while   in  danger 
of  being  considered  drunk  or  crazy,  any  one  should  take  his 
part ;  and  though  it  was  already  pretty  dark,  he  thought  he 
noticed,  for   the   first   time,  that  Veronica   had    really   very 
fine  dark-blue  eyes,  and  this   too   without   remembering  the 
strange  pair  which  he  had  looked  at  in  the  elder-bush.     On 
the  whole,  the   adventure  under   the   elder-bush   had    once 
more  entirely   vanished    from  the   thoughts  of  the   Student 
Anselmus  ;  he  felt  himself  at  ease  and  light  of  heart;  nay, 
in  the  capriciousness   of  joy,  he   carried   it   so   far,  that  he 
offered  a  helping  hand  to  his  fair  advocate,  Veronica,  as  she 
was  stepping  from  the  gondola  ;  and  without  more  ado,  as 
she   put  her   arm  in   his,   escorted  her  home  with  so  much 
dexterity  and   good  luck,  that  he  only  missed   his  footing 
once,  and  this  being  the  only  wet  spot  in  the  whole  road,  only 
spattered  Veronica's  white  gown  a  very  little  by  the  incident. 
Conrector   Paulmann    failed    not   to   observe    this   happy 
change  in  the  Student  Anselmus  ;  he  resumed  his  liking  for 
him,  and  begged  forgiveness   for  the   hard   words  which  he 
had   let  fall   before.     "Yes,"   added   he,  "we   have   many 
examples  to  show   that  certain  fantasms  may   rise  before  a 
man,  and  pester  and    plague  him  not  a   little  ;  but  this  is 
bodily  disease,  and  leeches  are  good  for  it,  if  applied  to  the 
right  part,  as  a  certain  learned  physician,  now  deceased,  has 
directed."     The  Student  Anselmus  knew   not   whether  he 
had  been  drunk,  crazy,  or  sick  ;  but  at  all  events  the  leeches 
seemed  entirely  superfluous,  as  these  supposed  fantasms  had 
utterly  vanished,  and  the  Student  himself  was  growing  hap- 
pier and  happier,  the  more  he  prospered  in  serving  the  pret- 
ty Veronica  with  all  sorts  of  dainty  attentions. 


36  HOFFMANN. 

As  usual,  after  the  frugal  meal,  came  music  ;  the  Student 
Anselmus  had  to  take  his  seat  before  the  harpsichord,  and 
Veronica  accompanied  his  playing  with  her  pure,  clear 
voice.  "  Dear  Mademoiselle,"  said  Registrator  Heerbrand, 
"  you  have  a  voice  like  a  crystal  bell  !  " 

"  That  she  has  not !  "  ejaculated  the  Student  Anselmus, 
he  scarcely  knew  how.  "  Crystal  bells  in  elder-trees  sound 
strangely!  strangely!'1  continued  the  Student  Anselmus, 
murmuring  half  aloud. 

Veronica  laid  her  hand  on  his  shoulder,  and  asked  : 
"  What  are  you  saying  now,  Herr  Anselmus  ?  " 

Instantly  Anselmus  recovered  his  cheerfulness,  and  began 
playing.  Conrector  Paulmann  gave  a  grim  look  at  him  ; 
but  Registrator  Heerbrand  laid  a  music-leaf  on  the  frame, 
and  sang  with  a  ravishing  grace  one  of  Bandmaster  Graun's 
bravura  airs.  The  Student  Anselmus  accompanied  this,  and 
much  more  ;  and  a  fantasy  duet,  which  Veronica  and  he 
now  fingered,  and  Conrector  Paulmann  had  himself  com- 
posed, again  brought  all  into  the  gayest  humor. 

It  was  now  pretty  late,  and  Registrator  Heerbrand  was 
taking  up  his  hat  and  stick,  when  Conrector  Paulmann  went 
up  to  him  with  a  mysterious  air,  and  said:  "Hem!  — 
Would  not  you,  honored  Registrator,  mention  to  the  good 
Herr  Anselmus  himself — Hem!  what  we  were  speaking 
of  before  ?  " 

"  With  all  the  pleasure  in  nature,''  said  Registrator  Heer- 
brand, and  having  placed  himself  in  the  circle,  began,  with- 
out farther  preamble,  as  follows  : 

"  In  this  city  is  a  strange,  remarkable  man,  people  say  he 
follows  all  manner  of  secret  sciences  ;  but  as  there  are  no 
such  sciences,  I  rather  take  him  for  an  antiquary,  and  along 
with  this,  for  an  experimental  chemist.  I  mean  no  other 
than  our  Privy  Archivarius  Lindhorst.  He  lives,  as  you 
know,  by  himself,  in  his  old  sequestered   house  ;  and  when 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  37 

disengaged  from  his  office,  he  is  to  be  found  in  his  library, 
or  in  his  chemical  laboratory,  to  which,  however,  he  admits 
no  stranger.  Besides  many  curious  books,  he  possesses  a 
number  of  manuscripts,  partly  Arabic,  Coptic,  and  some  of 
them  in  strange  characters,  which  belong  not  to  any  known 
tongue.  These  he  wishes  to  have  copied  properly  ;  and  for 
this  purpose  be  requires  a  man  who  can  draw  with  the  pen, 
and  so  transfer  these  marks  to  parchment,  in  Indian  ink, 
with  the  highest  strictness  and  fidelity.  The  work  is  car- 
ried on  in  a  separate  chamber  of  his  house,  under  his  own 
oversight  ;  and  besides  free  board  during  the  time  of  busi- 
ness, he  pays  his  man  a  speziesthaler,  or  specie-dollar, 
daily,  and  promises  a  handsome  present  when  the  copying 
is  rightly  finished.  The  hours  of  work  are  from  twelve  to 
six.     From  three  to  four  you  take  rest  and  dinner. 

"Herr  Archivarius  Lindhorst  having  in  vain  tried  one 
or  two  young  people  for  copying  these  manuscripts,  has  at 
last  applied  to  me  to  find  him  an  expert  drawer  ;  and  so  I 
have  been  thinking  of  you,  dear  Herr  Anselmus,  for  I  know 
that  you  both  write  very  neatly,  and  likewise  draw  with  the 
pen  to  great  perfection.  Now,  if  in  these  bad  times,  and 
till  your  future  establishment,  you  could  like  to  earn  a  spez- 
iesthaler in  the  day,  and  this  present  over  and  above,  you 
can  go  to-morrow  precisely  at  noon,  and  call  upon  the  Arch- 
ivarius, whose  house  no  doubt  you  know.  But  be  on  your 
guard  against  any  blot  !  If  such  a  thing  falls  on  your  copy, 
you  must  begin  it  again  ;  if  it  falls  on  the  original,  the  Arch- 
ivarius will  think  nothing  to  throw  you  over  the  window,  for 
he  is  a  hot-tempered  gentleman." 

The  Student  Anselmus  was  filled  with  joy  at  Registrator 
Heerbrand's  proposal  ;  for  not  only  could  the  Student  write 
well  and  draw  well  with  the  pen,  but  this  copying  with 
laborious  calligraphic   pains  was  a  thing  he  delighted  in  be- 

VOL.  II.  4 


38  HOFFMANN. 

yond  aught  else.  So  he  thanked  his  patron  in  the  most 
grateful  terms,  and  promised  not  to  fail  at  noon  to-morrow. 

All  night  the  Student  Anselmus  saw  nothing  but  clear 
speziesthalers,  and  heard  nothing  but  their  lovely  clink. 
Who  could  blame  the  poor  youth,  cheated  of  so  many  hopes 
by  capricious  destiny,  obliged  to  take  counsel  about  every 
farthing,  and  to  forego  so  many  joys  which  a  young  heart 
requires!  Early  in  the  morning  he  brought  out  his  black- 
lead  pencils,  his  crow-quills,  his  Indian  ink  ;  for  better  mate- 
rials, thought  he,  the  Archivarius  can  find  nowhere.  Above  all, 
he  mustered  and  arranged  his  calligraphic  masterpieces  and 
his  drawings,  to  show  them  to  the  Archivarius,  in  proof  of 
his  ability  to  do  what  he  wished.  All  prospered  with  the 
Student ;  a  peculiar,  happy  star  seemed  to  be  presiding  over 
him  ;  his  neckcloth  sat  right  at  the  very  first  trial;  no  tack 
burst ;  no  loop  gave  way  in  his  black  silk  stockings";  his  hat  did 
not  once  fall  to  the  dust  after  he  had  trimmed  it.  In  a 
word,  precisely  at  half  past  eleven,  the  Student  Anselmus, 
in  his  pike-grey  frock,  and  black  satin  lower  habiliments, 
with  a  roll  of  calligraphies  and  pen-drawings  in  his  pocket, 
was  standing  in  the  Schlossgasse,  or  Castle-gate,  in  Con- 
radi's  shop,  and  drinking  one  —  two  glasses  of  the  best  sto- 
machic liqueur ;  for  here,  thought  he,  slapping  on  the 
still  empty  pocket,  for  here  speziesthalers  will  be  chinking 
soon. 

Notwithstanding  the  distance  of  the  solitary  street  where 
the  Archivarius  Lindhorst's  antique  residence  lay,  the  Stu- 
dent Anselmus  was  at  the  front-door  before  the  stroke  of 
twelve.  He  stood  here,  and  was  looking  at  the  large,  fine 
bronze  knocker  ;  but  now  when,  as  the  last  stroke  tingled 
through  the  air  with  loud  clang  from  the  steeple-clock  of 
the  Kreuzkirche,  or  Cross-church,  he  lifted  his  hand  to  grasp 
this  same  knocker,  the  metal  visage  twisted  itself,  with  horrid 
rolling   of  its  blue-gleaming  eyes,  into  a   grinning  smile. 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  OlJ 

Alas,  it  was  the  Apple-woman  of  the  Schwarzthor !  The 
pointed  teeth  gnashed  together  in  the  loose  jaws,  and  in 
their  chattering  through  the  skinny  lips  there  was  a  growl 
as  of:  "  Thou  fool,  fool,  fool  !  —  Wait,  wait !  —  Why  didst 
run  !  —  Fool !  w  Horror-struck,  the  Student  Anselmus  flew 
back ;  he  clutched  at  the  door-post,  but  his  hand  caught 
the  bell-rope,  and  pulled  it,  and  in  piercing  discords  it  rung 
stronger  and  stronger,  and  through  the  whole  empty  house 
the  echo  repeated,  as  in  mockery  :  "  To  the  crystal  fall !  " 
An  unearthly  terror  seized  the  Student  Anselmus,  and  quiv- 
ered through  all  his  limbs.  The  bell-rope  lengthened  down- 
wards, and  became  a  white,  transparent,  gigantic  serpent, 
which  encircled  and  crushed  him,  and  girded  him  straiter 
and  straiter  in  its  coils,  till  his  brittle,  paralyzed  limbs  went 
crashing  in  pieces,  and  the  blood  spouted  from  his  veins, 
penetrating  into  the  transparent  body  of  the  serpent,  and 
dyeing  it  red.  "Kill  me!  Kill  me!"  he  would  have 
cried,  in  his  horrible  agony  ;  but  the  cry  was  only  a  stifled 
gurgle  in  his  throat.  The  serpent  lifted  its  head,  and  laid 
its  long  peaked  tongue  of  glowing  brass  on  the  breast  of 
Anselmus;  then  a  fierce  pang  suddenly  cut  asunder  the 
artery  of  life,  and  thought  fled  away  from  him.  On  return- 
ing to  his  senses,  he  was  lying  on  his  own  poor  truckle-bed  ; 
Conrector  Paulmann  was  standing  before  him,  and  saying  : 
"  For  Heaven's  sake,  what  mad  stuff  is  this,  dear  Herr  An- 
selmus?" 

THIRD    VIGIL. 

Notices  of  Archivarius   Lindhorsfs   Family.      Veronica's 
blue  Eyes.     Registrator  Heerbrand. 

"  The  Spirit  looked  upon  the  water,  and  the  water  moved 
itself,  and  chafed  in  foaming  billows,  and  plunged    thunder- 


40 


HOFFMANN. 


ng  down  into  the  Abysses,  which  opened  their  black  throats, 
and  greedily  swallowed  it.  Like  triumphant  conquerors, 
the  granite  Rocks  lifted  their  cleft,  peaky  crowns,  protecting 
the  Valley,  till  the  Sun  took  it  into  his  paternal  bosom,  and 
clasping  it  with  his  beams  as  with  glowing  arms,  cherished 
it  and  warmed  it.  Then  a  thousand  germs,  which  had 
been  sleeping  under  the  desert  sand,  awoke  from  their  deep 
slumber,  and  stretched  out  their  little  leaves  and  stalks 
towards  the  Sun  their  father's  face  ;  and,  like  smiling  infants 
in  green  cradles,  the  flowerets  rested  in  their  buds  and 
blossoms,  till  they  too,  awakened  by  their  father,  decked 
themselves  in  lights,  which  their  father,  to  please  them, 
tinted  in  a  thousand  varied  hues. 

"  But  in  the  midst  of  the  Valley  was  a  black  Hill,  which 
heaved  up  and  down  like  the  breast  of  man  when  warm 
longing  swells  it.  From  the  Abysses  mounted  steaming 
vapors,  and  rolled  themselves  together  into  huge  masses, 
striving  malignantly  to  hide  the  father's  face  ;  but  he  called 
the  Storm  to  him,  which  rushed  thither,  and  scattered  them 
away  ;  and  when  the  pure  sunbeam  rested  again  on  the 
bleak  Hill,  there  started  from  it,  in  the  excess  of  its  rapture, 
a  glorious  Fire-Lily,  opening  its  fair  leaves  like  gentle  lips 
to  receive  the  kiss  of  its  father. 

"And  now  came  a  gleaming  Splendor  into  the  Valley; 
it  was  the  youth  Phosphorus ;  the  Lily  saw  him,  and  begged, 
being  seized  with  warm,  longing  love  :  4  Be  mine  forever 
thou  fair  youth!  For  I  love  thee,  and  must  die  if  thou 
forsake  me!'  Then  spake  the  youth  Phosphorus:  'I  will 
be  thine,  thou  fair  flower  ;  but  then  wilt  thou,  like  a  naughty 
child,  leave  father  and  mother;  thou  wilt  know  thy  play- 
mates no  longer,  wilt  strive  to  be  greater  and  stronger Mhan 
all  that  now  rejoices  with  thee  as  thy  equal.  The  longing, 
which  now  beneficently  warms  thy  whole  being,  will  be 
scattered  into  a  thousand  rays,  and  torture    and    vex  thee 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  41 

for  sense  will  bring  forth  senses  ;  and  the  highest  rapture, 
which  the  Spark  I  cast  into  thee  kindles,  will  be  the  hope- 
less pain  wherein  thou  shalt  perish,  to  spring  up  anew  in 
foreign  shape.     This  spark  is  Thought ! ' 

"'Ah!'  mourned  the  Lily, 'can  I  not  be  thine  in  this 
glow,  as  it  now  burns  in  me  ;  not  still  be  thine  ?  Can  I 
love  thee  more  than  now ;  could  I  look  on  thee  as  now,  if 
thou  vvert  to  annihilate  me  ? '  Then  the  youth  Phosphorus 
kissed  the  Lily ;  and  as  if  penetrated  with  light,  it  mounted 
up  in  flame,  out  of  which  issued  a  foreign  Being,  that,  hast- 
ily flying  from  the  Valley,  roved  forth  into  endless  Space, 
no  longer  heeding  its  old  playmates,  or  the  youth  it  had 
loved.  This  youth  mourned  for  his  lost  beloved  ;  for  he 
too  loved  her,  it  was  love  to  the  fair  Lily  that  had  brought 
him  to  the  lone  Valley  ;  and  the  granite  Rocks  bent  down 
their  heads  in  participation  of  his  grief. 

"But  one  of  these  opened  its  bosom,  and  there  came  a 
black-winged  Dragon  flying  out  of  it,  and  said  :  '  My  breth- 
ren, the  Metals  are  sleeping  in  there ;  but  I  am  always 
brisk  and  waking,  and  will  help  thee.'  Dashing  up  and 
down  on  its  black  pinions,  the  Dragon  at  last  caught  the 
Being  which  had  sprung  from  the  Lily  ;  bore  it  to  the  Hill, 
and  encircled  it  with  his  wing  ;  then  was  it  the  Lily  again ; 
but  Thought,  which  continued  with  it,  tore  asunder  its 
heart ;  and  its  love  for  the  youth  Phosphorus  was  a  cutting 
pain,  before  which,  as  if  breathed  on  by  poisonous  vapors, 
the  flowerets,  which  had  once  rejoiced  in  the  fair  Lily's 
presence,  faded  and  died. 

"The  youth  Phosphorus  put  on  a  glittering  coat  of  mail, 
sporting  with  the  light  in  a  thousand  hues,  and  did  battle 
with  the  Dragon,  who  struck  the  cuirass  with  his  black  wing, 
till  it  rung  and  sounded ;  and  at  this  loud  clang  the  flowerets 
again  came  to  life,  and  like  variegated  birds  fluttered  round 
the  Dragon,  whose  force  departed  ;  and  who,  thus  being 
4* 


42 


HOFFMANN. 


vanquished,  hid  himself  in  the  depths  of  the  Earth.  The 
Lily  was  freed ;  the  youth  Phosphorus  clasped  her,  full  of 
warm  longing,  of  heavenly  love ;  and  in  triumphant  chorus, 
the  flowers,  the  birds,  nay  even  the  high  granite  Rocks,  did 
reverence  to  her  as  the  Queen  of  the  Valley." 

"By  your  leave,  worthy  Herr  Archivarius,  this  is  Oriental 
bombast,"  said  Registrator  Heerbrand ;  "  and  we  beg  very 
much  you  would  rather,  as  you  often  do,  give  us  something 
of  your  own  most  remarkable  life,  of  your  travelling  adven- 
tures, for  instance  ;  above  all,  something  true." 

"What  the  deuce,  then  ?"  answered  Archivarius  Lind- 
horst.  "  True?  This  very  thing  I  have  been  telling,  is  the 
truest  I  could  dish  out  for  you,  good  people,  and  belongs  to 
my  life  too,  in  a  certain  sense.  For  I  come  from  that  very 
Valley  ;  and  the  Fire-Lily,  which  at  last  ruled  as  queen 
there,  was  my  great-great-great-great-grandmother;  and  so, 
properly  speaking,  I  am  a  prince  myself."  All  burst  into  a 
peal  of  laughter.  "  Ay,  laugh  your  fill,"  continued  Ar- 
chivarius Lindhorst ;  "  to  you  this  matter  which  I  have 
related,  certainly  in  the  most  brief  and  meagre  way,  may 
seem  senseless  and  mad  ;  yet,  notwithstanding  this,  it  is 
meant  for  anything  but  incoherent,  or  even  allegorical,  and 
it  is,  in  one  word,  literally  true.  Had  I  known,  however, 
that  the  glorious  love-story,  to  which  I  owe  my  existence, 
would  have  pleased  you  so  ill,  I  might  have  given  you  a 
little  of  the  news  my  brother  brought  me  on  his  visit  yes- 
terday." 

"How,  how  is  this?  Have  you  a  brother,  then,  Herr 
Archivarius  ?  Where  is  he  ?  Where  lives  he  ?  In  his 
Majesty's  service  too  ?  Or  perhaps  a  private  scholar  ? M 
cried  the  company  from  all  quarters. 

"No!"  replied  the  Archivarius,  quite  cool,  and  com- 
posedly taking  a  pinch  of  snuff,  "  he  has  joined  the  bad 
side  ;  he  has  gone  over  to  the  Dragons." 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  43 

"  What  do  you  please  to  mean,  dear  Herr  Archivarius  ?  " 
cried  Registrator  Heerbrand.  "  Over  to  the  Dragons  ?  " — 
"  Over  to  the  Dragons  ?  "  resounded  like  an  echo  from  all 
hands. 

"  Yes,  over  to  the  Dragons,"  continued  Archivarius  Lind- 
horst ;  "  it  was  sheer  desperation,  I  believe.  You  know, 
gentlemen,  my  father  died  a  short  while  ago  ;  it  is  but  three 
hundred  and  eighty-five  years  since,  at  most,  and  I  am  still 
in  mournings  for  it.  He  had  left  me,  his  favorite  son,  a 
fine  onyx  ;  this  onyx,  right  or  wrong,  my  brother  would 
have  ;  we  quarrelled  about  it,  over  my  father's  corpse,  in 
such  unseemly  wise,  that  the  good  man  started  up,  out  of  all 
patience,  and  threw  my  wicked  brother  down  stairs.  This 
stuck  in  our  brother's  stomach,  and  so  without  loss  of  time 
he  went  over  to  the  Dragons.  At  present,  he  keeps  in  a 
cypress  wood,  not  far  from  Tunis;  he  has  got  a  famous 
mystic  carbuncle  to  watch  there,  which  a  dog  of  a  necro- 
mancer, who  has  set  up  a  summer-house  in  Lapland,  has 
an  eye  to ;  so  my  poor  brother  only  gets  away  for  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  or  so,  when  the  necromancer  happens  to  be  out 
looking  after  the  salamander-bed  in  his  garden,  and  then  he 
tells  me  in  all  haste  what  good  news  there  are  about  the 
Springs  of  the  Nile." 

For  the  second  time,  the  company  burst  out  into  a  peal 
of  laughter ;  but  the  Student  Anselmus  began  to  feel  quite 
dreary  in  heart ;  and  he  could  scarcely  look  in  Archivarius 
Lindhorst's  parched  countenance,  and  fixed,  earnest  eyes, 
without  shuddering  internally  in  a  way  which  he  could  not 
himself  understand.  Moreover,  in  the  rude  and  strangely 
metallic  sound  of  Archivarius  Lindhorst's  voice  there  was 
something  mysteriously  piercing  for  the  Student  Anselmus, 
and  he  felt  his  very  bones  and  marrow  tingling  as  the  Archi- 
varius spoke. 

The  special   object,  for  which  Registrator  Heerbrand  had 


44  HOFFMANN. 

taken  him  into  the  coffee-house,  seemed  at  present  not  to  be 
attainable.  After  that  accident  at  Archivarius  Lindhorst's 
door,  the  Student  Auselmus  had  withstood  all  inducements 
to  risk  a  second  visit;  for,  according  to  his  own  heart-felt 
conviction,  it  was  only  chance  that  had  saved  him,  if  not 
from  death,  at  least  from  the  danger  of  insanity.  Con- 
rector  Paulmann  had  happened  to  be  passing  through  the 
street  at  the  time  when  Anselmus  was  lying  quite  senseless 
at  the  door,  and  an  old  woman,  who  had  laid  her  cake  and 
apple-basket  to  a  side,  was  busied  about  him.  Conrector 
Paulmann  had  forthwith  called  a  chair,  and  so  got  him 
carried  home.  "  Think  of  me  what  you  will,"  said  the 
Student  Anselmus,  "  consider  me  a  fool  or  not;  I  say,  the 
cursed  visage  of  that  witch  at  the  Schwarzthor  grinned  on 
me  from  the  door-knocker.  What  happened  after  I  would 
rather  not  speak  of;  but  had  I  recovered  from  my  swoon 
and  seen  that  infernal  Apple-wife  beside  me,  (for  the  old 
woman  whom  you  talk  of  was  no  other,)  I  should  that  instant 
have  been  struck  by  apoplexy,  or  have  run  stark  mad." 
All  persuasions,  all  sensible  arguments,  on  the  part  of  Con- 
rector  Paulmann  and  Registrator  Heerbrand,  profited  noth- 
ing ;  and  even  the  blue-eyed  Veronica  herself  could  not 
raise  him  from  a  certain  moody  humor,  in  which  he  had 
ever  since  been  sunk.  In  fact,  these  friends  regarded  him 
as  troubled  in  mind,  and  meditated  expedients  for  diverting 
his  thoughts  ;  to  which  end,  Registrator  Heerbrand  thought, 
there  could  nothing  be  so  serviceable  as  this  employment  of 
copying  Archivarius  Lindhorst's  manuscripts.  The  busi- 
ness, therefore,  was  to  introduce  the  Student  in  some  proper 
way  to  Archivarius  Lindhorst ;  and  so  Registrator  Heer- 
brand, knowing  that  the  Archivarius  used  to  visit  a  certain 
coffee-house  almost  nightly,  had  invited  the  Student  Ansel- 
mus to  come  every  evening  to  that  same  coffee-house,  and 
drink  a  glass  of  beer  and  smoke  a  pipe,  at  his  the  Regis- 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  45 

trator's  charges,  till  such  time  as  Archivarius  Lindhorst 
should  in  one  way  or  another  see  him,  and  the  bargain  for 
this  copying  work  be  settled  ;  which  offer  the  Student  An- 
selmus  had  most  gratefully  accepted.  "God  will  reward 
you,  worthy  Registrator,  if  you  bring  the  young  man  to 
reason  !  "  said  Conrector  Paulmann.  "  God  will  reward 
you ! "  repeated  Veronica,  piously  raising  her  eyes  to 
heaven,  and  vividly  thinking  that  the  Student  Anselmus 
was  already  a  most  pretty  young  man,  even  without  any 
reason. 

Now  accordingly,  as  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  with  hat  and 
staff,  was  making  for  the  door,  Registrator  Heerbrand 
seized  the  Student  Anselmus  briskly  by  the  hand,  and  with 
him  stepping  in  the  way,  he  said  :  "  Most  esteemed  Herr 
Archivarius,  here  is  the  Student  Anselmus,  who  has  an  un- 
common talent  in  calligraphy  and  drawing,  and  will  under- 
take the  copying  of  your  rare  manuscripts." 

"  I  am  most  particularly  glad  to  hear  it,"  answered  Ar- 
chivarius Lindhorst  sharply  ;  then  threw  his  three-cocked 
military  hat  on  his  head  ;  and  shoving  Registrator  Heer- 
brand and  the  Student  Anselmus  to  a  side,  rushed  down 
stairs  with  great  tumult,  so  that  both  of  them  were  left 
standing  much  bamboozled,  gaping  at  the  room-door,  which 
he  had  slammed  in  their  faces,  till  the  bolts  and  hinges  of  it 
rung  again. 

"  It  is  a  very  strange  old  gentleman,"  said  Registrator 
Heerbrand.  "Strange  old  gentleman,"  stammered  the  Stu- 
dent Anselmus,  with  a  feeling  as  if  an  ice-stream  were 
creeping  over  all  his  veins,  and  he  were  stiffening  into  a 
statue.  All  the  guests,  however,  laughed,  and  said  :  "  Our 
Archivarius  has  got  into  his  high  key  to-day ;  to-morrow, 
you  shall  see,  he  is  mild  as  a  lamb  again,  and  speaks  not  a 
word,  but  looks  into  the  smoke-vortexes  of  his  pipe,  or 
reads  the  newspapers  ;  you  must  not  mind  these  freaks." 


46 


HOFFMANN. 


"That  is  true  too,"  thought  the  Student  Anselmus ; 
"  who  would  mind  such  a  thing,  after  all  ?  Did  not  the 
Archivarius  tell  me  he  was  most  particularly  glad  to  hear 
that  I  would  undertake  the  copying  of  his  manuscripts  ;  and 
why  did  Registrator  Heerbrand  step  directly  in  his  way, 
when  he  was  going  home  ?  No,  no,  he  is  a  good  man  at 
bottom,  this  Privy  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  and  surprisingly 
liberal.  A  little  curious  or  so  in  his  figures  of  speech  :  but 
what  is  that  to  me  ?  To-morrow  by  the  stroke  of  twelve 
I  go  to  him,  though  fifty  bronzed  Apple-wives  should  try  to 
hinder  me  !  " 


FOURTH   VIGIL. 

• 

Melancholy  of  the  Student  Anselmus.  The  Emerald  Mir- 
ror. How  Archivarius  Lindhorst  flew  off  in  the  shape 
of  a  Kite,  and  the  Student  Anselmus  met  nobody. 

To  thee  thyself,  favorable  reader,  I  may  well  venture  the 
question,  whether  thou  in  thy  time  hast  not  had  hours,  nay 
days  and  weeks,  in  which  all  thy  customary  trading  and 
transacting  raised  a  most  vexing  dissatisfaction  in  thy  soul  ; 
and  all  that  thou  wert  wont  to  look  upon  as  worthy  and 
important  now  seemed  paltry  and  unprofitable?  Thou 
knewest  not,  at  this  season,  what  to  do,  or  whither  to  turn  ; 
a  dim  feeling  that  somewhere,  and  sometime  or  other,  there 
must  be  a  higher  wish  fulfilled,  a  wish  overstepping  the 
circle  of  all  earthly  joys,  and  which  the  spirit,  like  a  strictly- 
nurtured  and  timid  child,  durst  not  even  utter,  still  swelled 
thy  breast ;  and  in  this  longing  for  the  unknown  Somewhat, 
which,  wherever  thou  wentest  or  stoodest,  hovered  round 
thee  like  an  airy  dream,  with  thin  translucent  forms,  melting 
away  in  thy  sharper  glance,  thou  wert  mute   for  all   that 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  47 

environed  thee  here  below.  Thou  glidedst  to  and  fro  with 
troubled  look,  like  a  hopeless  lover  ;  and  all  that  thou  sawest 
men  attempting  or  attaining,  in  the  noisy  vortex  of  their 
many-colored  existence,  awakened  in  thee  no  sorrow  and 
no  joy,  as  if  thou  hadst  neither  part  nor  lot  in  this  sublunary 
world. 

If  such,  favorable  reader,  has  at  any  time  been  thy  hu- 
mor, then  from  thy  own  experience  thou  knowest  the  state 
into  which  the  Student  Anselmus  had  now  fallen.  On  the 
whole,  I  could  wish  much,  courteous  reader,  that  it  were  in 
my  power  to  bring  the  Student  Anselmus  with  proper  vivid- 
ness before  thy  eyes.  For  in  the  Night-watches,  which  I 
spend  in  recording  his  highly  singular  history,  I  have  still 
so  much  of  the  marvellous,  which  like  a  spectral  vision  may 
remove  into  faint  remoteness  the  week-day  life  of  common 
mortals,  to  lay  before  thee,  that  I  fear  thou  wilt  come,  in 
the  end,  to  believe  neither  in  the  Student  Anselmus,  nor  in 
Archivarius  Lindhorst ;  nay,  wilt  even  entertain  some  un- 
founded doubts  as  to  Registrator  Heerbrand  and  Conrector 
Paulmann,  though  the  last  two  estimable  persons,  at  least, 
are  yet  walking  the  pavement  of  Dresden.  Make  an  effort, 
favorable  reader  —  while  in  the  Fairy  region  full  of  glorious 
Wonders,  which  with  subduing  thrills  calls  forth  the  highest 
rapture  and  the  deepest  horror  ;  nay,  where  the  Earnest 
Goddess  herself  will  waft  aside  her  veil,  so  that  we  seem  to 
look  upon  her  countenance  (but  a  smile  often  glimmers 
through  her  earnest  glance  ;  and  this  is  that  jestful  teasing, 
which  sports  with  us  in  all  manner  of  perplexing  enchant- 
ments, as  mothers  in  nursing  and  dandling  their  dearest 
children)  —  in  this  region,  which  the  spirit  so  often,  at  least 
in  dreams,  lays  open  to  us,  do  thou  make  an  effort,  favora- 
ble reader,  again  to  recognize  the  well-known  shapes  which, 
even  in  common  life,  are  daily,  in  fitful  brightness,  hovering 
round  thee.     Thou  wilt  then  find  that  this  glorious  kingdom 


48  HOFFMANN. 

lies  much  closer  at  hand  than  thou  wert  wont  to  suppose  ; 
which  I  now  very  heartily  desire,  and  am  striving  to  show 
thee  in  the  singular  story  of  the  Student  Anselmus. 

So,  as  was  hinted,  the  Student  Anselmus,  ever  since  that 
evening  when  he  met  with  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  had  been 
sunk  in  a  dreamy  musing,  which  rendered  him  insensible  to 
every  outward  touch  from  common  life.  He  felt  how  an 
unknown  Something  was  awakening  his  inmost  soul,  and 
calling  forth  that  rapturous  pain  which  is  even  the  mood  of 
Longing  that  announces  a  loftier  existence  to  man.  He 
delighted  most  when  he  could  rove  alone  through  meads 
and  woods  ;  and,  as  if  loosened  from  all  that  fettered  him  to 
his  necessitous  life,  could,  so  to  speak,  again  find  himself  in 
the  manifold  images  which  mounted  from  his  soul. 

It  happened  once,  that,  in  returning  from  a  long  ramble, 
he  passed  by  that  notable  elder-tree  ;  under  which,  as  if 
taken  with  faery,  he  had  formerly  beheld  so  many  marvels. 
He  felt  himself  strangely  attracted  by  the  green,  kindly 
sward  ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  seated  himself  on  it  than  the 
whole  vision  which  he  had  then  seen  as  in  a  heavenly  trance, 
and  which  had  since  as  if  by  foreign  influence  been  driven 
from  his  mind,  again  came  floating  before  him  in  the  liveli- 
est colors,  as  if  he  had  a  second  time  been  looking  on  it. 
Nay,  it  was  clearer  to  him  now  than  ever,  that  the  gentle 
blue  eyes  belonged  to  the  gold-green  Snake,  which  had 
wound  itself  through  the  middle  of  the  elder-tree  ;  and  that 
from  the  turnings  of  its  taper  body  all  those  glorious  crystal 
tones,  which  had  filled  him  with  rapture,  must  needs  have 
broken  forth.  As  on  Ascension-day,  he  now  again  clasped 
the  elder-tree  to  his  bosom,  and  cried  into  the  twigs  and 
leaves:  "Ah,  once  more  shoot  forth,  arid  turn  and  wind 
thyself  among  the  twigs,  thou  little,  fair,  green  Snake,  that  I 
may  see  thee  !  Once  more  look  at  me  with  thy  gentle 
eyes  !     Ah,  I  love  thee,  and  must  die   in   pain  and  grief,  if 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  49 

thou  return  not !  "  All,  however,  remained  quite  dumb  and 
still  ;  and,  as  before,  the  elder-tree  rustled  quite  unintelli- 
gibly with  its  twigs  and  leaves.  But  the  Student  Anselmus 
now  felt  as  if  he  knew  what  it  was  that  so  moved  and  work- 
ed within  him,  nay,  that  so  tore  his  bosom  in  the  pain  of  an 
infinite  longing.  "  What  else  is  it,"  said  he,  "  but  that  I 
love  thee  with  my  whole  heart  and  soul,  and  even  to  the 
death,  thou  glorious,  golden,  little  Snake  ;  nay,  that  without 
thee  I  cannot  live,  and  must  perish  in  hopeless  woe,  unless 
I  find  thee  again,  unless  I  have  thee  as  the  beloved  of  my 
heart  ?  But  I  know  it,  thou  shalt  be  mine  ;  and  then  all 
that  glorious  dreams  have  promised  me  of  another  higher 
world  shall  be  fulfilled." 

Henceforth  the  Student  Anselmus,  every  evening,  when 
the  sun  was  scattering  its  bright  gold  over  the  peaks  of  the 
trees,  was  to  be  seen  under  the  elder-bush,  calling  from  the 
depths  of  his  heart  in  most  lamentable  tones  into  the 
branches  and  leaves,  for  a  sight  of  his  beloved,  of  his  little 
gold-green  Snake.  Once,  as,  according  to  custom,  he  was 
going  on  with  this,  there  stood  before  him  suddenly  a  tall, 
lean  man,  wrapped  up  in  a  wide,  light-grey  surtout,  who, 
looking  at  him  with  his  large,  fiery  eyes,  exclaimed  :  "  Hey, 
hey,  what  whining  and  whimpering  is  this  ?  Hey,  hey, 
this  is  Herr  Anselmus  that  was  to  copy  my  manu- 
scripts." The  Student  Anselmus  felt  not  a  little  terrified  at 
this  strong  voice,  for  it  was  the  very  same  which  on  Ascen- 
sion day  had  called  :  "  Hey,  hey,  what  chattering  and  jing- 
ling is  this,"  and  so  forth.  For  fright  and  astonishment,  he 
could  not  utter  a  word.  "  What  ails  you  then,  Herr  Ansel- 
mus," continued  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  "  for  the  stranger  was 
no  other  ;  "  what  do  you  want  with  the  elder-tree,  and  why 
did  you  not  come  to  me,  and  set  about  your  work  ?  " 

In  fact,  the  Student  Anselmus  had  never  yet  prevailed 
upon  himself  to  visit  Archivarius  Lindhorst's  house  a  second 

VOL.  II.  5 


50  HOFFMANN. 

time,  though  that  evening  he  had  firmly  resolved  on  doing 
it.  But  now  at  this  moment,  when  he  saw  his  fair  dreams 
torn  asunder,  and  that  too  by  the  same  hostile  voice  which 
had  once  before  snatched  away  his  beloved,  a  sort  of  des- 
peration came  over  him,  and  he  broke  out  fiercely  into  these 
words  :  "You  may  think  me  mad  or  not,  Herr  Archivarius; 
it  is  all  one  to  me  ;  but  here  in  this  bush,  on  Ascension-day, 
I  saw  the  gold-green  Snake  —  ah !  the  forever  beloved  of 
my  soul  ;  and  she  spoke  to  me  inglorious  crystal  tones; 
and  you,  you,  Herr  Archivarius,  cried  and  shouted  so  hor- 
ribly over  the  water." 

"How  is  this,  sweet  Sir?"  interrupted  Archivarius 
Lindhorst,  smiling  quite  inexpressibly,  and  taking  snuff. 

The  Student  Anselmus  felt  his  breast  getting  great  ease, 
now  that  he  had  succeeded  in  beginning  this  strange  story  ; 
and  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  were  quite  right  in  laying  the 
whole  blame  upon  the  Archivarius,  and  that  it  was  he,  and 
no  other,  who  had  so  thundered  from  the  distance.  He 
courageously  proceeded  :  "  Well,  then,  I  will  tell  you  the 
whole  mystery  that  happened  to  me  on  Ascension-evening  ; 
and  then  you  may  say  and  do,  and  withal  think  of  me, 
whatever  you  please.'"  He  accordingly  disclosed  the  whole 
miraculous  adventure,  from  his  luckless  oversetting  of  the 
apple-basket,  till  the  departure  of  the  three  gold-green 
Snakes  over  the  river  ;  and  how  the  people  after  that  had 
thought  him  drunk  or  crazy.  "  All  this,"  so  ended  the  Stu- 
dent Anselmus,  "  I  actually  saw  with  my  eyes  ;  and  deep 
in  my  bosom  are  those  dear  voices  which  spoke  to  me,  still 
sounding  in  clear  echo  ;  it  was  nowise  a  dream  ;  and  if  I 
am  not  to  die  of  longing  and  desire,  I  must  believe  in  these 
gold-green  Snakes  ;  though  I  see  by  your  smile,  Herr 
Archivarius,  that  you  hold  these  same  Snakes  as  nothing 
more  than  creatures  of  my  heated  and  overstrained  imagi- 
nation." 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  51 

"  Not  at  all,"  replied  the  Archivarius,  in  the  greatest  peace 
and  composure  ;  "  the  gold-green  Snakes  which  you  saw 
in  the  elder-bush,  Herr  Anselmus,  were  simply  my  three 
daughters  ;  and  that  you  have  fallen  over  head  and  ears  in 
love  with  the  blue  eyes  of  Serpentina  the  youngest  is  now 
clear  enough.  Indeed,  I  knew  it  on  Ascension-day  myself; 
and  as  I,  on  that  occasion,  sitting  busied  with  my  writing  at 
home,  began  to  get  annoyed  with  so  much  chattering  and 
jingling,  I  called  to  the  idle  minxes  that  it  was  time*  to  get 
home,  for  the  sun  was  setting,  and  they  had  sung  and  basked 
enough." 

The  Student  Anselmus  felt  as  if  he  now  merely  heard  in 
plain  words  something  he  had  long  dreamed  of;  and  though 
he  fancied  he  observed  that  elder-bush,  wall,  and  sward,  and 
all  objects  about  him  were  beginning  slowly  to  whirl  round, 
he  took  heart,  and  was  ready  to  speak  ;  but  the  Archivarius 
prevented  him  ;  for  sharply  pulling  the  glove  from  his  left 
hand,  and  holding  the  stone  of  a  ring,  glittering  in  strange 
sparkles  and  flames  before  the  Student's  eyes,  he  said  : 
"  Look  here,  Herr  Anselmus ;  what  you  see  may  do  you 
good." 

The  Student  Anselmus  looked  in,  and,  O  wonder!  the 
stone  threw  a  beam  of  rays  round  it,  as  from  a  burning 
focus  ;  and  the  rays  wove  themselves  together  into  a  clear, 
gleaming,  crystal  mirror ;  in  which,  with  many  windings, 
now  flying  asunder,  now  twisted  together,  the  three  gold- 
green  Snakes  were  dancing  and  bounding.  And  when 
their  taper  forms,  glittering  with  a  thousand  sparkles,  touched 
each  other,  there  issued  from  them  glorious  tones,  as  of 
crystal  bells  ;  and  the  midmost  of  the  three  stretched  forth 
her  little  head  from  the  mirror,  as  if  full  of  longing  and 
desire,  and  her  dark-blue  eyes  said  :  "  Knowest  thou  me, 
then  ;  believest  thou  in  me,  Anselmus  ?  In  Belief  alone  is 
Love  ;  canst  thou  love  ?  " 


52  IIOFFMAiNN. 

"  O  Serpentina  !  Serpentina  !  "  cried  the  Student  Ansel- 
mus  in  mad  rapture  ;  but  Archivarius  Lindhorst  suddenly 
breathed  on  the  mirror,  and  with  an  electric  sputter  the  rays 
sank  back  into  their  focus ;  and  on  his  hand  there  was  now 
nothing  but  a  little  emerald,  over  which  the  Archivarius 
drew  his  glove. 

"  Did  you  see  the  golden  Snakes,  Herr  Anselmus  ?  "  said 
the  Archivariys. 

"  ArT,  good  Heaven,  yes  !  "  replied  the  Student,  "  and  the 
fair,  dear  Serpentina." 

"  Hush  !  "  continued  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  "  enough 
at  one  time  ;  for  the  rest,  if  you  resolve  on  working  with 
me,  you  may  see  my  daughter  often  enough  ;  or  rather  I 
will  grant  you  this  real  satisfaction,  if  you  slick  tightly  and 
truly  to  your  task,  that  is  to  say,  copy  every  mark  with  the 
greatest  clearness  and  correctness.  But  you  do  not  come 
to  me  at  all,  Herr  Anselmus,  though  Registrator  Heerbrand 
promised  I  should  see  you  forthwith,  and  I  have  waited  sev- 
eral days  in  vain." 

Not  till  the  mention  of  Registrator  Heerbrand's  name, 
did  the  Student  Anselmus  again  feel  as.  if  he  were  really 
standing  with  his  two  legs  on  the  ground,  and  he  were  really 
the  Student  Anselmus,  and  the  man  talking  to  him  really 
Archivarius  Lindhorst.  The  tone  of  indifference  with 
which  the  latter  spoke,  in  such  rude  contrast  with  the  strange 
sights  which,  like  a  genuine  necromancer,  he  had  called 
forth,  awakened  a  certain  horror  in  the  Student,  which  the 
piercing  look  of  these  fiery  eyes,  beaming  from  their  bony 
sockets  in  the  lean,  puckered  visage,  as  from  a  leathern  case, 
still  farther  aggravated  ;  and  the  Student  was  again  forcibly 
seized  with  the  same  unearthly  feeling  which  had  before 
gained  possession  of  him  in  the  coffee-house,  when  Archiva- 
rius Lindhorst  had  talked  so  wildly.  With  a  great  effort  he 
retained  his  self-command,  and  as  Archivarius  again  asked  : 


THE    GOLDEN    POT. 


53 


"  Well,  why  have  you  not  come  to  me  ?  "  the  Student  ex- 
erted his  whole  energies,  and  related  to  him  all  that  had 
happened  at  the  street-door. 

"Dear  Herr  Ansel mus,"  said  the  Archivarius,  when  the 
narrative  was  finished  :  "  dear  Herr  Anselmus,  I  know  this 
Apple-wife  of  whom  you  speak;  she  is  a  fatal  slut  of  a 
creature  that  plays  all  manner  of  freaks  on  me  ;  but  that 
she  should  have  bronzed  herself,  and  taken  the  shape  of  a 
door-knocker,  to  deter  pleasant  visitors  from  calling,  is  in- 
deed very  bad,  and  truly  not  to  be  endured.  Would  you 
please,  however,  worthy  Herr  Anselmus,  if  you  come  to- 
morrow at  noon,  and  notice  aught  more  of  this  grinning  and 
growling,  just  to  be  so  good  as  to  drop  me  a  driblet  or  two 
of  this  liquor  on  her  nose  ;  it  will  put  all  to  rights  immedi- 
ately. And  now,  adieu,  dear  Herr  Anselmus  !  I  go  some- 
what fast,  therefore  I  would  not  advise  you  to  think  of  return- 
ing with  me.    Adieu,  till  we  meet!  —  To-morrow  at  noon  !" 

The  Archivarius  had  given  Student  Anselmus  a  little  vial 
with  a  gold-colored  fluid  in  it;  and  he  walked  rapidly  off; 
so  rapidly,  that  in  the  dusk,  which  had  now  come  on,  he 
seemed  rather  to  be  floating  down  to  the  valley  than  step- 
ping down  to  it.  Already  he  was  near  the  Kosel  garden  ; 
the  wind  got  within  his  wide  great-coat,  and  drove  the 
breasts  of  it  asunder ;  so  that  they  fluttered  in  the  air  like 
a  pair  of  large  wings  ;  and  to  the  Student  Anselmus,  who 
was  looking  full  of  amazement  at  the  course  of  the  Archi- 
varius, it  seemed  as  if  a  large  bird  were  spreading  out 
its  pinions  for  rapid  flight.  And  now,  while  the  Student 
kept  gazing  into  the  dusk,  a  white-grey  kite  with  creaking 
cry  soared  up  into  the  air ;  and  he  now  saw  clearly  that  the 
white  flutter  which  he  had  looked  upon,  as  the  retiring  Ar- 
chivarius, must  have  been  this  very  kite,  though  he  still  could 
not  understand  where  the  Archivarius  had  vanished  so 
abruptly. 


54  HOFFMANN. 

u  Perhaps  he  may  have  flown  away  in  person,  this  Herr 
Archivarius  Lindhorst,"  said  the  Student  Anselmus  to  him- 
self; "  for  I  now  see  and  feel  clearly  that  all  these  foreign 
shapes  of  a  distant  wondrous  world,  which  formerly  I  never 
saw  except  in  quite  peculiarly  remarkable  dreams,  have  now 
come  forth  into  my  waking  life,  and  are  making  their  sport 
of  me.  But  be  this  as  it  will !  Thou  livest  and  glowest 
in  my  breast,  thou  lovely,  gentle  Serpentina  ;  thou  alone 
canst  still  the  infinite  longing  which  now  rends  my  soul 
in  pieces.  Ah,  when  shall  I  see  thy  kind  eyes,  dear,  dear 
Serpentina  !  "  So  cried  the  Student  Anselmus  quite  aloud. 
—  "That  is  a  vile,  unchristian  name!"  murmured  a  bass 
voice  beside  him,  which  belonged  to  some  home-going 
promenader.  The  Student  Anselmus,  reminded  in  right 
season  where  he  was,  hastened  off  at  a  quick  pace  ;  think- 
ing to  himself:  "Were  it  not  a  proper  misfortune  now  if 
Conrector  Paulmann  or  Registrator  Heerbrand  were  to  meet 
me  ?  " — But  neither  of  these  gentlemen  met  him. 


FIFTH   VIGIL. 

Die  Frau  Hofrathinn  Anselmus.    Cicero  de  Officiis.    Meer- 
cats,  and  other  vermin.     The  Equinox. 

"  There  is  nothing  in  the  world  to  be  made  of  this  An- 
selmus," said  Conrector  Paulmann  ;  "  all  my  good  advices, 
all  my  admonitions,  are  fruitless ;  he  will  apply  himself  to 
nothing ;  though  he  is  a  fine  classical  scholar  too,  and  that 
is  the  foundation  of  all." 

But  Registrator  Heerbrand,  with  a  sly,  mysterious  smile, 
replied  :  "  Let  Anselmus  have  his  time,  dear  Conrector  !  he 
is  a  strange   subject,  this   Anselmus,  but  there  is  much   in 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  55 

him  ;  and  when  I  say  much,  I  mean  a  Privy  Secretary,  or 
even  a  Court-councillor,  a  Hofrath." 

"  Hof — "  began  Conrector  Paulmann,  in  the  deepest 
amazement ;  the  word  stuck  in  his  throat. 

"Hush!  hush!"  continued  Registrator  Heerbrand,  "I 
know  what  I  know.  These  two  days  he  has  been  with 
Archivarius  Lindhorst,  copying  manuscripts;  and  last  night 
the  Archivarius  meets  me  at  the  coffee-house,  and  says : 
1  You  have  sent  me  a  proper  man,  good  neighbor!  There 
is  stuff  in  him  !'  And  now  think  of  Archivarius  Lindhorst's 
influence  —  Hush  !  hush  !  we  will  talk  of  it  this  time  twelve- 
month." And  with  these  words  the  Registrator,  his  face 
still  wrinkled  into  the  same  sly  smile,  went  out  of  the  room ; 
leaving  the  Conrector  speechless  from  astonishment  and 
curiosity,  and  fixed,  as  if  by  enchantment,  in  his  chair. 

But  on  Veronica  this  dialogue  had  made  a  still  deeper 
impression.  "  Did  I  not  know  all  along,"  thought  she,  "  that 
Herr  Anselmus  was  a  most  clever  and  pretty  young  man, 
out  of  whom  something  great  was  to  come  ?  Were  I  but 
certain  that  he  really  liked  me !  But  that  night  when  we 
crossed  the  Elbe,  did  he  not  twice  press  my  hand  ?  Did 
he  not  look  at  me,  in  our  duet,  with  such  particular  glances, 
that  pierced  into  my  very  heart?  Yes,  yes!  he  really  likes 
me  ;  and  I  —  "  Veronica  gave  herself  up,  as  young  maidens 
are  wont,  to  sweet  dreams  of  a  gay  future.  She  was  Mrs. 
Hofrath,  Frau  Hofrathinn ;  she  occupied  a  fine  house  in 
the  Schlossgasse,  or  in  the  Neumarkt,  or  in  the  Moritz- 
strasse  ;  the  fashionable  hat,  the  new  Turkish  shawl,  became 
her  admirably  ;  she  was  breakfasting  in  the  balcony  in  an 
elegant  negligee,  giving  orders  to  her  cook  for  the  day : 
"And  see,  if  you  please,  not  to  spoil  that  dish  ;  it  is  the  Hof- 
rath's  favorite."  Then  passing  beaux  glanced  up,  and  she 
heard  distinctly :  "  Well,  it  is  a  heavenly  woman,  that 
Hofrathinn  ;    how   prettily  the   lace  cap   sets   her  ! "     Mrs. 


56 


HOFFMANN. 


Privy  Councillor  Ypsilon  sends  her  servant  to  ask  if  it  would 
please  the  Frau  Hofrathinn  to  drive  as  far  as  the  Linke 
Bath  to-day  ?  "  Many  compliments  ;  extremely  sorry  I  am 
engaged  to  tea  already  with  the  Presidentinn  Tz.  Then 
comes  the  Hofrath  Anselmus  back  from  his  office;  he  is 
dressed  in  the  top  of  the  mode  :  "  Ten,  I  declare,"  cries  he, 
making  his  gold  watch  repeat,  and  giving  his  young  lady 
a  kiss.  "  How  goes  it,  little  wife  ?  Guess  what  I  have 
here  for  thee  ?  "  continues  he,  roguishly  toying ;  and  draws 
from  his  waistcoat-pocket  a  pair  of  beautiful  earrings,  fash- 
ioned in  the  newest  style,  and  puts  them  on  in  place  of  the 
old  ones.  "Ah  !  the  pretty,  dainty  earrings  !  "  cried  Veron- 
ica aloud  ;  and  started  up  from  her  chair,  throwing  aside 
her  work,  to  see  these  fair  earrings  with  her  own  eyes  in 
the  glass. 

"  What  is  this,  then  ?  "  said  Conrector  Paulmann,  roused 
by  the  noise  from  his  deep  study  of  Cicero  de  Officiis^  and 
almost  dropping  the  book  from  his  hand;  "are  we  taking 
fits,  like  Anselmus  ?  "  But  at  this  moment,  the  Student 
Anselmus,  who,  contrary  to  his  custom,  had  not  been  seen 
for  several  days,  entered  the  room,  to  Veronica's  astonish- 
ment and  terror ;  for,  in  truth,  he  seemed  altered  in  his 
whole  bearing.  With  a  certain  precision,  which  was  far 
from  usual  in  him,  he  spoke  of  new  tendencies  of  life  which 
had  become  clear  to  his  mind,  of  glorious  prospects  which 
were  opening  for  him,  but  which  many  a  one  had  not  the 
skill  to  discern.  Conrector  Paulmann,  remembering  Regis- 
trator Heerbrand's  mysterious  speech,  was  still  more  struck, 
and  could  scarcely  utter  a  syllable,  till  the  Student  Ansel- 
mus, after  letting  fall  some  hints  of  urgent  business  at 
Archivarius  Lindhorst's,  and  with  elegant  adroitness  kissing 
Veronica's  hand,  was  already  down  stairs,  off,  and  away. 

"This  was  the  Hofrath  already,"  murmured  Veronica 
to  herself;  "and  he  kissed  my  hand,  without  sliding  on  the 


THE    GOLDEN     POT. 


57 


floor,  or  treading  on  my  foot,  as  he  used  !  He  threw  me 
the  softest  look  too  ;  yes,  he  really  likes  me  !  " 

Veronica  again  gave  way  to  her  dreaming  ;  yet  now  it 
was  as  if  a  hostile  shape  were  still  coming  forward  among 
these  lovely  visions  of  her  future  household  life  as  Frau 
Hofrathinn,  and  the  shape  were  laughing  in  spiteful  mock- 
ery, and  saying  :  "  This  is  all  very  stupid  and  trashy  stuff', 
and  lies  to  boot ;  for  Anselmus  will  never,  never,  be  Hof- 
rath,  and  thy  husband  ;  he  does  not  love  thee  in  the  least, 
though  thou  hast  blue  eyes,  and  a  fine  figure,  and  a  pretty 
hand."  Then  an  ice-stream  poured  over  Veronica's  soul ; 
and  a  deep  sorrow  swept  away  the  delight  with  which,  a 
little  while  ago,  she  had  seen  herself  in  the  lace  cap  and 
fashionable  earrings.  Tears  almost  rushed  into  her  eyes, 
and  she  said  aloud  :  "Ah !  it  is  too  true  ;  he  does  not  love 
me  in  the  least ;  and  I  shall  never,  never,  be  Frau  Hofra- 
thinn ! " 

"  Romance  crotchets  !  Romance  crotchets  !  "  cried  Con- 
rector  Paulmann ;  then  snatched  his  hat  and  stick,  and 
hastened  indignantly  from  the  house.  "  This  was  still  want- 
ing," sighed  Veronica  ;  and  felt  vexed  at  her  little  sister, 
a  girl  of  twelve  years,  because  she  sat  so  unconcerned,  and 
kept  sewing  at  her  frame,  as  if  nothing  had  happened* 

Meanwhile  it  was  almost  three  o'clock  ;  and  now  time 
to  trim  the  apartment,  and  arrange  the  coffee-table  ;  for  the 
Mademoiselles  Oster  had  announced  that  they  were  corning. 
But  from  behind  every  work-box  which  Veronica  lifted  aside, 
behind  the  note-books  which  she  laid  away  from  the  harp- 
sichord, behind  every  cup,  behind  the  coffee-pot  which  she 
took  from  the  cupboard,  that  shape  peeped  forth,  like  a  little 
mandrake,  and  laughed  in  spiteful  mockery,  and  snapped 
its  little  spider  fingers,  and  cried :  "  He  will  not  be  thy 
husband!  he  will  not  be  thy  husband!"  And  then,  when 
she   threw  all  away,  and  fled  to  the  middle  of  the   room, 


58  HOFFMANN. 

it  peered  out  again,  with  long  nose,  in  gigantic  bulk,  from, 
behind  the  stove,  and  snarled  and  growled  :  "  He  will  not 
be  thy  husband  !  " 

"  Dost  thou  hear  nothing,  sister  ?  dost  thou  see  noth- 
ing ? "  cried  Veronica,  shivering  with  affright,  and  not 
daring  to  touch  aught  in  the  room.  Franzchen  rose,  quite 
grave  and  quiet,  from  her  broidering-frame,  and  said  : 
"  What  ails  thee  to-day,  sister  ?  Thou  art  throwing  all 
topsyturvy,  and  jingling  and  tingling.  I  must  help  thee, 
I  see." 

But  here  the  lively  visitors  came  tripping  in  with  brisk 
laughter;  and  the  same  moment,  Veronica  perceived  that  it 
was  the  stove-handle  which  she  had  taken  for  a  shape  ;  and 
the  creaking  of  the  ill-shut  stove-door  for  those  spiteful 
words.  Yet,  thus  violently  seized  with  an  inward  horror, 
she  could  not  so  directly  recover  her  composure,  that  the 
strange  excitement,  which  even  her  paleness  and  agitated 
looks  betrayed,  was  not  noticed  by  the  Mademoiselles  Oster. 
As  they  at  once  cut  short  their  merry  narratives,  and 
pressed  her  to  tell  them  what,  in  Heaven's  name,  had  hap- 
pened, Veronica  was  obliged  to  admit  that  certain  strange 
thoughts  had  come  into  her  mind  ;  and  suddenly,  in  open 
day,  a  dread  of  spectres,  which  she  did  not  use  to  feel,  had 
got  the  better  of  her.  She  described  in  such  lively  colors 
how  a  little  grey  mannikin,  peeping  out  of  all  the  corners 
of  the  room,  had  mocked  and  plagued  her,  that  the  Made- 
moiselles Oster  began  to  look  round  with  timid  glances,  and 
start  all  manner  of  unearthly  notions.  But  Franzchen 
entered  at  this  moment  with  the  steaming  coffee-pot ;  and 
the  whole  three,  taking  thought  again,  laughed  outright  at 
their  folly. 

Angelica,  the  elder  of  the  Osters,  was  engaged  to  an 
officer ;  the  young  man  had  joined  the  army  ;  but  his  friends 
had  been  so  long  without  news  of  him,  that  there  was  too 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  59 

little  doubt  of  his  being  dead,  or  at  least  grievously  wounded. 
This  had  plunged  Angelica  into  the  deepest  sorrow  ;  but  to- 
day she  was  merry,  even  to  extravagance  ;  a  state  of  things 
which  so  much  surprised  Veronica,  that  she  could  not  but 
speak  of  it,  and  inquire  the  reason.  "Dear  girl,"  said 
Angelica,  M  dost  thou  fancy  that  my  Victor  is  not  still  in  my 
heart  and  my  thoughts  ?  It  is  for  him  lam  so  gay  —  O 
Heaven  !  so  happy,  so  blessed  in  my  whole  soul  !  For  my 
Victor  is  well  ;  in  a  little  while  he  comes,  advanced  to  be 
Rittmeister,  and  adorned  with  the  honors  which  his  bound- 
less courage  has  won  him.  A  deep,  but  by  no  means  dan- 
gerous wound,  in  the  right  arm,  which  he  got  too  by  a  sword- 
cut  from  a  French  hussar,  prevents  him  from  writing ;  and 
the  rapid  change  of  quarters,  for  he  will  not  consent  to 
leave  his  regiment,  still  makes  it  impossible  for  him  to  send 
me  tidings.  But  to-night  he  receives  a  fixed  order  to  with- 
draw, till  his  wound  be  cured.  To-morrow  he  sets  out  for 
home  ;  and  just  as  he  is  stepping  into  the  coach,  he  learns 
his  promotion  to  be  Rittmeister." 

"  But,  dear  Angelica,"  interrupted  the  other,  "  how  know- 
est  thou  all  this  already  ?  " 

"  Do  not  laugh  at  me,  my  friend,"  continued  Angelica  ; 
"  and  surely  thou  wilt  not  laugh ;  for  might  not  the  little 
grey  mannikin,  to  punish  thee,  peep  forth  from  behind  the 
mirror  there  ?  In  a  word,  I  cannot  lay  aside  my  belief  in 
certain  mysterious  things,  since  often  enough  in  life  they 
have  come  before  my  eyes,  I  might  say,  into  my  very 
hands.  For  example,  I  cannot  reckon  it  so  strange  and 
incredible  as  many  others  do,  that  there  should  be  people 
gifted  with  a  certain  faculty  of  prophecy,  which,  by  sure 
means  known  to  themselves,  they  may  put  in  action.  In  the 
city,  here,  is  an  old  woman,  who  possesses  this  gift  to  a  high 
degree.  It  is  not,  as  with  others  of  her  tribe,  by  cards,  or 
melted  lead,  or  grounds  of  coffee,   that  she  divines  to  you  ; 


60  HOFFMANN. 

but  after  certain  preparations,  in  which  you  yourself  bear 
a  part,  she  takes  a  polished  metallic  mirror,  and  there 
rises  in  it  the  strangest  mixture  of  figures  and  forms,  all 
intermingled ;  these  she  interprets,  and  so  answers  your 
question.  I  was  with  her  last  night,  and  got  those  tidings 
of  my  Victor,  in  which  I  have  not  doubted  for  a  moment.'" 

Angelica's  narrative  threw  a  spark  into  Veronica's  soul, 
which  instantly  kindled  with  the  thought  of  consulting  this 
same  old  prophetess  about  Anselmus  and  her  hopes.  She 
learned  that  the  crone  was  called  Frau  Rauerin,  and  lived 
in  a  remote  street  near  the  Seethor ;  that  she  was  not  to  be 
seen  except  on  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Fridays,  from 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  but  then,  indeed,  through  the 
whole  night  till  sunrise  ;  and  that  she  liked  best  if  her 
customers  came  alone.  It  was  Thursday  even  now,  and 
Veronica  determined,  under  pretext  of  accompanying  the 
Osters  home,  to  visit  this  old  woman,  and  lay  the  case  be- 
fore her. 

Accordingly,  no  sooner  had  her  friends,  who  lived  in 
the  Neustadt,  parted  from  her  at  the  Elbe-bridge,  than  she 
hastened  with  winged  steps  towards  the  Seethor  ;  and  ere 
long  she  had  reached  the  remote  narrow  street  described 
to  her,  and  at  the  end  of  it  perceived  the  little  red  house  in 
which  Frau  Rauerin  was  said  to  live.  She  could  not  rid 
herself  of  a  certain  dread,  nay  of  a  certain  horror,  as  she 
approached  the  door.  At  last  she  summoned  resolution,  in 
spite  of  inward  terror,  and  made  bold  to  pull  the  bell ; 
the  door  opened,  and  she  groped  through  the  dark  passage 
for  the  stair  which  led  to  the  upper  story,  as  Angelica  had 
directed.  "  Does  Frau  Rauerin  live  here  ?  "  cried  she, 
into  the  empty  lobby,  as  no  one  appeared  ;  and  instead  of 
answer,  there  rose  a  long  clear  "  Mew  !"  and  a  large  black 
Cat,  with  its  back  curved  up,  and  whisking  its  tail  to  and 
fro  in   wavy  coils,   stept  on   before  her,   with  much   gravity 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  61 

to  the  door  of  the  apartment,  which,  on  a  second  mew,  was 
opened. 

"  Ah,  see  !  Art  thou  here  already,  daughter?  Come  in, 
love  ;  come  in  !  "  exclaimed  the  advancing  figure,  the  as- 
pect of  which  was  rooting  Veronica  to  the  floor.  A  long, 
lean  woman,  wrapped  in  black  rags  ;  while  she  spoke,  her 
peaked,  projecting  chin  wagged  this  way  and  that ;  her 
toothless  mouth,  overshadowed  by  the  bony  hawk-nose, 
twisted  itself  into  a  ghastly  smile,  and  gleaming  cat's-eyes 
flickered  in  sparkles  through  the  large  spectacles.  From  a 
party-colored  clout  wrapped  round  her  head,  black,  wiry 
hair  was  sticking  out;  but  what  deformed  her  haggard 
visage  to  absolute  horror  was  two  large  burnmarks  which 
ran  from  the  left  cheek  over  the  nose.  Veronica's  breath- 
ing stopped  ;  and  the  scream,  which  was  about  to  lighten 
her  choked  breast,  became  a  deep  sigh,  as  the  witch's 
skeleton  hand  took  hold  of  her,  and  led  her  into  the  cham- 
ber. Here  all  was  awake  and  astir;  nothing  but  din  and 
tumult,  and  squeaking,  and  mewing,  and  croaking,  and 
piping  all  at  once,  on  every  hand.  The  crone  struck  the 
table  with  her  fist,  and  screamed  :  "  Peace,  ye  vermin  !  " 
And  the  meer-cats,  whimpering,  clambered  to  the  top  of 
the  high  bed  ;  and  the  little  meer-swine  all  ran  beneath  the 
stove,  and  the  raven  fluttered  up  to  the  round  mirror  ;  and 
the  black  Cat,  as  if  the  rebuke  did  not  apply  to  him,  kept 
sitting  at  his  ease  on  the  cushion-chair,  to  which  he  had  leapt 
directly  after  entering. 

So  soon  as  quiet  was  obtained,  Veronica  took  heart ;  she 
felt  less  dreary  and  frightened  than  without  in  the  lobby ; 
nay,  the  crone  herself  seemed  not  so  hideous.  For  the  first 
time,  she  now  looked  round  the  room.  All  manner  of 
odious  stuffed  beasts  hung  down  from  the  ceiling;  strange, 
unknown  household  implements  were  lying  in  confusion  on 
the  floor;  and   in  the  grate   was  a   blue,  scanty  fire,  which 

VOL.  II.  6 


62 


HOFFMANN. 


only  now  and  then  sputtered  up  in  yellow  sparkles  ;  and  at 
every  sputter  there  came  a  rustling  from  above,  and  mon- 
strous bats,  as  if  with  human  countenances,  in  distorted 
laughter,  went  flitting  to  and  fro;  at  times,  too,  the  flame 
shot  up,  licking  the  sooty  wall,  and  then  there  sounded 
cutting,  howling  tones  of  woe,  which  shook  Veronica  with 
fear  and  horror.  "  With  your  leave,  Mamsell  !  "  said  the 
crone,  knitting  her  brows,  and  seizing  a  brush  ;  with  which, 
having  dipt  it  in  a  copper  skillet,  she  then  besprinkled  the 
grate.  The  fire  went  out ;  and,  as  if  filled  with  thick  smoke, 
the  room  grew  pitch-dark  ;  but  the  crone,  who  had  gone 
aside  into  a  closet,  soon  returned  with  a  lighted  lamp  ;  and 
now  Veronica  could  see  no  beasts  or  implements  in  the 
apartment ;  it  was  a  common,  meanly  furnished  room.  The 
crone  came  up  to  her,  and  said  with  a  creaking  voice  :  "  I 
know  what  thou  wantest  here,  little  daughter;  tush,  thou 
wouldst  have  me  tell  thee  whether  thou  shalt  wed  Anselmus, 
when  he  is  Hofrath." 

Veronica  stiffened  with  amazement  and  terror ;  but  the 
crone  continued  :  "  Thou  hast  told  me  the  whole  of  it  at  home, 
at  thy  papa's,  when  the  coffee-pot  was  standing  before  thee  ; 
I  was  the  coffee-pot;  didst  thou  not  know  me  ?  Daughterkin, 
hear  me  !  Give  up,  give  up  this  Anselmus  ;  't  is  a  nasty  crea- 
ture ;  he  trod  my  little  sons,  my  dear  little  sons,  the  Apples 
with  the  red  cheeks,  that  glide  away,  when  people  have  bought 
them,  whisk!  out  of  their  pockets  again,  and  roll  back  into 
my  basket.  He  trades  with  the  Old  One  ;  't  was  but  the 
day  before  yesterday  he  poured  that  cursed  Auripigment 
on  my  face,  and  I  had  nigh  gone  blind  with  it.  Thou 
mayest  see  the  burnmarks  yet.  Daughterkin,  give  him  up, 
give  him  up  !  He  loves  thee  not,  for  he  loves  the  gold- 
green  Snake  ;  he  will  never  be  Hofrath,  for  he  has  joined 
the  Salamanders,  and  he  means  to  wed  the  green  Snake  ; 
give  him  up,  give  him  up  !  " 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  63 

Veronica,  who  had  a  firm,  steadfast  spirit  of  her  own, 
and  could  soon  conquer  girlish  terror,  now  drew  back  a  step, 
and  said,  with  a  serious,  resolute  tone  :  "  Old  dame  I 
I  heard  of  your  gift  of  looking  into  futurity  ;  and  wished, 
perhaps  too  curiously  and  thoughtlessly,  to  learn  from  you 
whether  Anselmus,  whom  I  love  and  value,  could  ever  be 
mine.  But  if,  instead  of  fulfilling  my  desire,  you  keep  vexing 
me  with  your  foolish,  unreasonable  babble,  you  are  doing 
wrong ;  for  I  have  asked  of  you  nothing  but  what,  as  I  well 
know,  you  grant  to  others.  Since,  as  it  would  seem,  you 
are  acquainted  with  my  inmost  thoughts,  it  might  perhaps 
have  been  an  easy  matter  for  you  to  unfold  to  me  much 
that  now  pains  and  grieves  my  mind  ;  but  after  your  silly 
slander  of  the  good  Anselmus,  I  care  not  for  talking  farther 
with  you.     Good  night !  " 

Veronica  was  hastening  away  ;  but  the  crone,  with  tears 
and  lamentation,  fell  upon  her  knees;  and  holding  the 
young  lady  by  the  gown,  exclaimed  :  "  Veronica  !  Veron- 
ica !  hast  thou  forgot  old  Liese,  then  ?  Her  who  has  so 
often  carried  thee  in  her  arms,  and  nursed  and  dandled 
thee?" 

Veronica  could  scarcely  believe  her  eyes  ;  for  here,  in 
truth,  was  her  old  nurse,  defaced  only  by  greater  age,  and 
chiefly  by  the  two  burns ;  old  Liese  in  person,  who  had 
vanished  from  Conrector  Paulmann's  house,  some  years  ago, 
no  one  knew  whither.  The  crone,  too,  had  quite  another 
look  now;  instead  of  the  ugly,  many-pieced  clout,  she  had 
on  a  decent  cap  ;  instead  of  the  black  rags,  a  gay  printed 
bedgown ;  she  was  neatly  dressed,  as  of  old.  She  rose 
from  the  floor;  and  taking  Veronica  in  her  arms,  proceeded  : 
u  What  I  have  just  told  thee  may  seem  very  mad  ;  but, 
unluckily,  it  is  too  true.  Anselmus  has  done  much  mischief, 
though  against  his  will  ;  he  has  fallen  into  Archivarius  Lind- 
horst's  hands,  and  the  Old   One   means  to   marry  him  with 


64 


HOFFMANN. 


his  daughter.  Archivarius  Lindhorst  is  my  deadliest  enemy  ; 
I  could  tell  thee  thousands  of  things  about  him  ;  which, 
however,  thou  wouldst  not  understand,  or,,  at  best,  be  too 
much  frightened  at.  He  is  the  Wise  Man,  it  seems;  but  I 
am  the  Wise  Woman  ;  let  this  stand  for  that !  I  see  now 
thou  lovest  this  Anselmus  heartily  ;  and  I  will  help  thee 
with  all  my  strength,  that  so  thou  mayest  be  happy,  and  wed 
him  like  a  pretty  bride,  as  thou  wishest." 

"  But  tell  me,  for  Heaven's  sake,  Liese "  interrupted 

Veronica. 

"  Hush  !  child,  hush!"  cried  the  old  woman,  interrupt- 
ing in  her  turn;  UI  know  what  thou  wouldst  say  ;  I  have 
become  what  I  am,  because  it  was  to  be  so ;  I  could  do  no 
other.  Well,  then  !  I  know  the  means  which  will  cure 
Anselmus  of  his  frantic  love  for  the  green  Snake,  and  lead 
him,  the  prettiest  Hofrath,  into  thy  arms  ;  but  thou  thyself 
must  help." 

"  Speak  it  out,  Liese  ;  I  will  do  aught  and  all,  for  I  love 
Anselmus  much  !  "   whispered  Veronica,  scarce  audibly. 

"  I  know  thee,"  continued  the  crone,  "  for  a  courageous 
child  ;  I  could  never  frighten  thee  to  sleep  with  the  Wau- 
wau  ;  for  that  instant,  thy  eyes  were  open  to  what  the  Wau- 
wau  was  like.  Thou  wouldst  go  without  a  light  into  the 
darkest  room ;  and  many  a  time,  with  papa's  powder-mantle, 
hast  thou  terrified  the  neighbors'  children.  Well,  then,  if 
thou  art  in  earnest  about  conquering  Archivarius  Lindhorst 
and  the  green  Snake  by  my  art ;  if  thou  art  in  earnest 
about  calling  Anselmus  by  the  name  of  Hofrath  and  thy 
husband  ;  then,  at  the  next  Equinox,  about  eleven  at  night, 
glide  from  thy  father's  house,  and  come  hither  ;  I  will  go 
with  thee  to  the  crossing  of  the  roads,  which  cut  the  fields 
hard  by  here;  we  shall  provide  the  needful;  and  whatever 
wonders  thou  mayest  see  shall  do  thee  no  whit  of  harm. 
And  now,  love,  good  night;  Papa  is  waiting  for  thee  to 
supper." 


THE    GOLDEN    POT. 


65 


Veronica  hastened  away  ;  she  had  the  firmest  purpose  not 
to  neglect  the  night  of  the  Equinox;  "for,"  thought  she, 
"  old  Liese  is  right ;  Anselmus  has  got  entangled  in  strange 
fetters  ;  but  I  will  free  him  from  them,  and  call  him  mine 
forever  and  aye ;  mine  he  is,  and  shall  be,  the  Hofrath  An- 
selmus." 


SIXTH    VIGIL. 

Archivarius  LindhorsPs  Garden,  with  some  Mock-birds. 
The  Golden  Pot.  English  current-hand.  Pot-hooks. 
The  Prince  of  the  Spirits. 

"  It  may  be,  after  all,"  said  the  Student  Anselmus  to 
himself,  "  that  the  superfine,  strong,  stomachic  liqueur,  which 
I  took  somewhat  freely  in  Monsieur  Conradi's,  might  really 
be  the  cause  of  all  these  shocking  fantasms,  which  so  tor- 
tured me  at  Archivarius  Lindhorst's  door.  Therefore  I 
will  go  quite  sober  to-day ;  and  so  bid  defiance  to  whatever 
farther  mischief  may  assail  me."  On  this  occasion,  as  be- 
fore when  equipping  himself  for  his  first  call  on  Archiva- 
rius Lindhorst,  the  Student  Anselmus  put  his  pen-drawings, 
and  calligraphic  masterpieces,  his  bars  of  Indian  ink,  and 
his  well-pointed  crow-pens,  into  his  pockets  ;  and  was  just 
turning  to  go  out,  when  his  eye  lighted  on  the  vial  with  the 
yellow  liquor,  which  he  had  received  from  Archivarius  Lind- 
horst. All  the  strange  adventures  he  had  met  with  ao-ain 
rose  on  his  mind  in  glowing  colors  ;  and  a  nameless  emotion 
of  rapture  and  pain  thrilled  through  his  breast.  Involun- 
tarily he  exclaimed,  with  a  most  piteous  voice:  "  Ah,  am 
not  I  going  to  the  Archivarius  solely  for  a  sight  of  thee, 
thou  gentle,  lovely  Serpentina  !  "  At  that  moment  he  felt 
as  if  Serpentina's  love  might  be  the  prize  of  some  laborious, 
6* 


66  HOFFMANN. 

perilous  task  which  he  had  to  undertake ;  and  as  if  this  task 
were  no  other  than  the  copying  of  the  Lindhorst  manu- 
scripts. That  at  his  very  entrance  into  the  house,  or,  more 
properly,  before  his  entrance,  all  manner  of  mysterious 
things  might  happen,  as  of  late,  was  no  more  than  he  antici- 
pated. He  thought  no  more  of  Conradi's  strong  water; 
but  hastily  put  the  vial  of  liquor  in  his  waistcoat-pocket,  that 
he  might  act  strictly  by  the  Archivarius's  directions,  should 
the  bronzed  Apple-woman  again  take  it  upon  her  to  make 
faces  at  him. 

And  did  not  the  hawk-nose  actually  peak  itself,  did  not  the 
cat-eyes  actually  glare  from  the  knocker,  as  he  raised  his 
hand  to  it,  at  the  stroke  of  twelve  ?  But  now,  without 
farther  ceremony,  he  dribbled  his  liquor  into  the  pestilent 
visage ;  and  it  folded  and  moulded  itself,  that  instant,  down 
to  a  glittering  bowl-round  knocker.  The  door  went  up  ; 
the  bells  sounded  beautifully  over  all  the  house  :  "  Kling- 
ling,  youngling,  in,  in,  spring,  spring,  klingling."  In  good 
heart  he  mounted  the  fine  broad  stair  ;  and  feasted  on  the 
odors  of  some  strange  perfumery,  that  was  floating  through 
the  house.  In  doubt  he  paused  on  the  lobby  ;  for  he  knew 
not  at  which  of  these  many  fine  doors  he  was  to  knock. 
But  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  in  a  white  damask  night-gown, 
stept  forth  to  him,  and  said  :  "  Well,  it  is  a  real  pleasure  to 
me,  Herr  Anselmus,  that  you  have  kept  your  word  at  last. 
Come  this  way,  if  you  please  ;  I  must  take  you  straight 
into  the  Laboratory."  And  with  this  he  stept  rapidly 
through  the  lobby,  and  opened  a  little  side-door,  which  led 
into  a  long  passage.  Anselmus  walked  on  in  high  spirits 
behind  the  Archivarius  ;  they  passed  from  this  corridor  into 
a  hall,  or  rather  into  a  lordly  green-house  ;  for  on  both  sides 
up  to  the  ceiling  stood  all  manner  of  rare,  wondrous  flowers, 
nay,  great  trees  with  strangely  formed  leaves  and  blossoms. 
A  magic,  dazzling  light  shone   over  the   whole,  though  you 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  67 

could  not  discover  whence  it  came,  for  no  window  whatever 
was  to  be  seen.  As  the  Student  Anselrnus  looked  in 
through  the  bushes  and  trees,  long  avenues  appeared  to  open 
in  remote  distance.  In  the  deep  shade  of  thick  cypress 
groves  lay  glittering  marble  fountains,  out  of  which  rose 
wondrous  figures,  spouting  crystal  jets,  that  fell  with  patter- 
ing spray  into  the  gleaming  lily-cups  ;  strange  voices  cooed 
and  rustled  through  the  wood  of  curious  trees  ;  and  sweetest 
perfumes  streamed  up  and  down. 

The  Archivarius  had  vanished;  and  Anselrnus  saw  noth- 
ing but  a  huge  bush  of  glowing  fire-lilies  before  him.  Intox- 
icated with  the  sight  and  the  fine  odors  of  this  fairy-garden, 
Anselrnus  stood  fixed  to  the  spot.  Then  began  on  all  sides 
of  him  a  giggling  and  laughing  ;  and  light  little  voices  railed 
and  mocked  him  :  "  Herr  Studiosus  !  Herr  Studiosus  ! 
how  came  you  hither  ?  Why  have  you  dressed  so  bravely, 
Herr  Anselrnus  ?  Will  you  chat  with  us  for  a  minute,  how 
grandmammy  sat  squelching  down  upon  the  egg,  and  young 
master  got  a  stain  on  his  Sunday  waistcoat  ?  —  Can  you  play 
the  new  tune,  now,  which  you  learned  from  Daddy  Cocka- 
doodle,  Herr  Anselrnus?  — You  look  very  fine  in  your  glass 
periwig,  and  post-paper  boots."  So  cried  and  chattered 
and  sniggered  the  little  voices,  out  of  every  corner,  nay, 
close  by  the  Student  himself,  who  now  observed  that  alt 
sorts  of  party-colored  birds  were  fluttering  above  him,  and 
jeering  him  in  hearty  laughter.  At  that  moment  the  bush 
of  fire-lilies  advanced  towards  him ;  and  he  perceived  that 
it  was  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  whose  flowered  night-gown, 
glittering  in  red  and  yellow,  had  so  far  deceived  his  eyes. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  worthy  Herr  Anselrnus,"  said  the 
Archivarius,  "  for  leaving  you  alone  ;  I  wished,  in  passing, 
to  take  a  peep  at  my  fine  cactus,  which  is  to  blossom  to- 
night.    But  how  like  you  my  little  house-garden  ?  " 

"Ah,  Heaven!     Immeasurably  pretty  it  is,   most  valued 


68  HOFFMANN. 

Herr  Archivarius,"  replied  the  Student;  "but  these  party- 
colored  birds  have  been  bantering  me  a  little." 

u  What  chattering  is  this?  "  cried  the  Archivarius  angrily 
into  the  bushes.  Then  a  huge  grey  Parrot  came  fluttering 
out,  and  perched  itself  beside  the  Archivarius  on  a  myrtle- 
bough  ;  and  looking  at  him  with  an  uncommon  earnestness 
and  gravity  through  a  pair  of  spectacles  that  stuck  on  its 
hooked  bill,  it  creaked  out :  "Don't  take  it  amiss,  Horr  Ar- 
chivarius ;  my  wild  boys  have  been  a  little  free  or  so ;  but 
the  Herr  Studiosus  has  himself  to  blame  in  the  matter, 
for  —  " 

"Hush!  hush  !"  interrupted  Archivarius  Lindhorst  ;  "I 
know  the  varlets  ;  but  thou  must  keep  them  in  better  disci- 
pline, my  friend  !  —  Now,  come  along,  Herr  Anselmus." 

And  the  Archivarius  again  slept  forth,  through  many  a 
strangely  decorated  chamber;  so  that  the  Student  Anselmus, 
in  following  him,  could  scarcely  give  a  glance  at  all  the 
glittering,  wondrous  furniture,  and  other  unknown  things, 
with  which  the  whole  of  them  were  filled.  At  last  they 
entered  a  large  apartment ;  where  the  Archivarius,  casting 
his  eyes  aloft,  stood  still;  and  Anselmus  got  time  to  feast 
himself  on  the  glorious  sight,  which  the  simple  decoration 
of  this  hall  afforded.  Jutting  from  the  azure-colored  walls, 
rose  gold-bronze  trunks  of  high  palm-trees,  which  wove 
their  colossal  leaves,  glittering  like  bright  emeralds,  into  a 
ceiling  far  up;  in  the  middle  of  the  chamber,  and  resting 
on  three  Egyptian  lions,  cast  out  of  dark  bronze,  lay  a 
porphyry  plate;  and  on  this  stood  a  simple  Golden  Pot, 
from  which,  so  soon  as  he  beheld  it,  Anselmus  could  not 
turn  away  an  eye.  It  was  as  if  in  a  thousand  gleaming 
reflexes  all  sorts  of  shapes  were  sporting  on  the  bright 
polished  gold  ;  often  he  perceived  his  own  form,  with  arms 
stretched  out  in  longing  —  ah!  beneath  the  elder-bush, — 
and  Serpentina  was  winding  and  shooting  up  and  down,  and 


THE    GOLDEN    POT. 


69 


again  looking  at  him  with  her  kind  eyes.     Anselmus  was 
beside  himself  with  frantic  rapture. 

"Serpentina!  Serpentina !"  cried  he  aloud;  and  Archi- 
varius  Lindhorst  whirled  round  abruptly,  and  said  :  "  How 
now,  worthy  Herr  Anselmus?  If  I  mistake  not,  you  were 
pleased  to  call  for  my  daughter;  she  is  quite  in  the  other 
side  of  the  house  at  present,  and  indeed  just  taking  her 
lesson  on  the  harpsichord.     Let  us  go  along." 

Anselmus,  scarcely  knowing  what  he  did,  followed  his 
conductor  ;  he  saw  or  heard  nothing  more,  till  Archivarius 
Lindhorst  suddenly  grasped  his  hand,  and  said  :  "  Here  is 
the  place!"  Anselmus  awoke  as  from  a  dream,  and  now 
perceived  that  he  was  in  a  high  room  all  lined  on  every 
side  with  book-shelves,  and  nowise  differing  from  a  common 
library  and  study.  In  the  middle  stood  a  large  writing- 
table,  with  a  stuffed  arm-chair  before  it.  "  This,"  said  Ar- 
chivarius Lindhorst,  "  is  your  work-room  for  the  present ; 
whether  you  may  work,  some  other  time,  in  the  blue  library, 
where  you  so  suddenly  called  out  my  daughter's  name,  I 
yet  know  not.  But  now  I  could  wish  to  convince  myself 
of  your  ability  to  execute  this  task  appointed  you,  in  the 
way  I  wish  it  and  need  it."  The  Student  here  gathered  full 
courage;  and,  not  without  internal  self-complacence  in  the 
certainty  of  highly  gratifying  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  pulled 
out  his  drawings  and  specimens  of  penmanship  from  his 
pocket.  But  no  sooner  had  the  Archivarius  cast  his  eye  on 
the  first  leaf,  a  piece  of  writing  in  the  finest  English  style, 
than  he  smiled  very  oddly,  and  shook  his  head.  These 
motions  he  repeated  at  every  following  leaf,  so  that  the 
Student  Anselmus  felt  the  blood  mounting  to  his  face  ;  and 
at  last,  when  the  smile  became  quite  sarcastic  and  con- 
temptuous, he  broke  out  in  downright  vexation  :  "  The  Herr 
Archivarius  does  not  seem  contented  with  my  poor  talents." 
44  Dear   Herr   Anselmus,"   said    Archivarius    Lindhorst, 


70  HOFFMANN. 

"you  have  indeed  fine  capacities  for  the  art  of  calligraphy; 
but,  in  the  mean  while,  it  is  clear  enough,  I  must  reckon 
more  on  your  diligence  and  good-will  than  on  you  attain- 
ments in  the  business." 

The  Student  Anselmus  spoke  largely  of  his  often-ac- 
knowledged perfection  in  this  art,  of  his  fine  Chinese  ink,  and 
most  select  crow-quills.  But  Archivarius  Lindhorst  handed 
him  the  English  sheet,  and  said:  "  Be  judge  yourself!" 
Anselmus  felt  as  if  struck  by  a  thunderbolt,  to  see  his  hand- 
writing look  so  ;  it  was  miserable,  beyond  measure.  There 
was  no  rounding  in  the  turns,  no  hair-stroke  where  it 
should  be,  no  proportion  between  the  capital  and  single 
letters;  nay,  villanous,  school-boy  pot-hooks  often  spoiled 
the  best  lines.  "And  then,1' continued  Archivarius  Lind- 
horst, "  your  ink  will  not  stand."  He  dipt  his  finger  in  a 
glass  of  water,  and  as  he  just  skimmed  it  over  the  lines,  they 
vanished  without  vestige.  The  Student  Anselmus  felt  as  if 
some  monster  were  throttling  him  ;  he  could  not  utter  a 
word.  There  stood  he,  with  the  unlucky  sheet  in  his  hand  ; 
but  Archivarius  Lindhorst  laughed  aloud,  and  said  :  "  Never 
mind  it,  dearest  Herr  Anselmus  ;  what  you  could  not  per- 
fect before  will  perhaps  do  better  here.  At  any  rate,  you 
shall  have  better  materials  than  you  have  been  accustomed 
to.    Begin,  in  Heaven's  name  !  " 

From  a  locked  press  Archivarius  Lindhorst  now  brought 
out  a  black  fluid  substance,  which  diffused  a  most  peculiar 
odor;  also  pens,  sharply  pointed  and  of  strange  color,  to- 
gether with  a  sheet  of  especial  whiteness  and  smoothness  ; 
then  at  last  an  Arabic  manuscript;  and  as  Anselmus  sat 
down  to  work,  the  Archivarius  left  the  room.  The  Student 
Anselmus  had  often  copied  Arabic  manuscripts  already  ;  the 
first  problem,  therefore,  seemed  to  him  not  so  very  difficult 
to  solve.  "  How  these  pot-hooks  came  into  my  fine  Eng- 
lish   current-hand,    Heaven,    and    Archivarius    Lindhorst, 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  71 

know  best,"  said  he  ;  "  but  that  they  are  not  from  my  hand 
I  will  testify  to  the  death  !"  At  every  new  word  that  stood 
fair  and  perfect  on  the  parchment,  his  courage  increased, 
and  with  it  his  adroitness.  In  truth,  these  pens  wrote 
exquisitely  well  ;  and  the  mysterious  ink  flowed  pliantly, 
and  black  as  jet,  on  the  bright  white  parchment.  And  as  he 
worked  along  so  diligently,  and  with  such  strained  attention, 
he  began  to  feel  more  and  more  at  home  in  the  solitary 
room  ;  and  already  he  had  quite  fitted  himself  into  his  task, 
which  he  now  hoped  to  finish  well,  when  at  the  stroke  of 
three  the  Archivarius  called  him  into  the  side-room  to  a 
savory  dinner.  At  table,  Archivarius  Lindhorst  was  in 
special  gayety  of  heart;  he  inquired  about  the  Student  An- 
selmus's  friends,  Conrector  Paulmann,  and  Registrator  Heer- 
brand,  and  of  the  latter  especially  he  had  store  of  merry 
anecdotes  to  tell.  The  good  old  Rhenish  was  particularly 
grateful  to  the  Student  Anselmus,  and  made  him  more  talk- 
ative than  he  was  wont  to  be.  At  the  stroke  of  four  he 
rose  to  resume  his  labor  ;  and  this  punctuality  appeared  to 
please  the  Archivarius. 

If  the  copying  of  these  Arabic  manuscripts  had  prospered 
in  his  hands  before  dinner,  the  task  now  went  forward 
much  better;  nay,  he  could  not  himself  comprehend  the 
rapidity  and  ease  with  which  he  succeeded  in  transcribing 
the  twisted  strokes  of  this  foreign  character.  But  it  was  as 
if,  in  his  inmost  soul,  a  voice  were  whispering  in  audible 
words:  "Ah!  couldst  thou  accomplish  it,  wert  thou  not 
thinking  of  Aer,  didst  thou  not  believe  in  her  and  in  her 
love  ?  "  Then  there  floated  whispers,  as  in  low,  low,  wav- 
ing, crystal  tones,  through  the  room:  "I  am  near,  near, 
near!  I  help  thee;  be  bold,  be  steadfast,  dear  Anselmus ! 
I  toil  with  thee,  that  thou  mayest  be  mine!  "  And  as,  in 
the  fulness  of  secret  rapture,  lie  caught  these  sounds,  the 
unknown  characters   grew   clearer  and  clearer  to  him  ;  he 


72  HOFFMANN. 

scarcely  required  to  look  on  the  original  at  all  ;  nay,  it  was 
as  if  the  letters  were  already  standing  in  pale  ink  on  the 
parchment,  and  he  had  nothing  more  to  do  but  mark  them 
black.  So  did  he  labor  on,  encompassed  with  dear,  inspiring 
tones,  as  with  soft,  sweet  breath,  till  the  clock  struck  six, 
and  Archivarius  Lindhorst  entered  the  apartment.  He 
came  forward  to  the  table  with  a  singular  smile  ;  Anselmus 
rose  in  silence  ;  the  Archivarius  still  looked  at  him,  with 
that  mocking  smile  ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  glanced  over  the 
copy  than  the  smile  passed  into  deep,  solemn  earnestness, 
which  every  feature  of  his  face  adapted  itself  to  express. 
He  seemed  no  longer  the  same.  His  eyes,  which  usually 
gleamed  with  sparkling  fire,  now  looked  with  unutterable 
mildness  at  Anselmus  ;  a  soft  red  tinted  the  pale  cheeks  ; 
and  instead  of  the  irony  which  at  other  times  compressed 
the  mouth,  the  softly-curved,  graceful  lips  now  seemed  to 
be  opening  for  wise  and  soul-persuading  speech.  The  whole 
form  was  higher,  statelier ;  the  wide  night-gown  spread 
itself  like  a  royal  mantle  in  broad  folds  over  his  breast  and 
shoulders  ;  and  through  the  white  locks,  which  lay  on  his 
high,  open  brow,  there  winded  a  thin  band  of  gold. 

"Young  man,"  began  the  Archivarius  in  solemn  tone, 
u  before  thou  thoughtest  of  it,  I  knew  thee,  and  all  the  secret 
relations  which  bind  thee  to  the  dearest  and  holiest  of  my 
interests!  Serpentina  loves  thee;  a  singular  destiny,  whose 
fateful  threads  were  spun  by  enemies,  is  fulfilled,  should  she 
be  thine,  and  thou  obtain,  as  an  essential  dowry,  the  Golden 
Pot,  which  of  right  belongs  to  her.  But  only  from  effort 
and  contest  can  thy  happiness  in  the  higher  life  arise ;  hos- 
tile Principles  assail  thee  ;  and  only  the  interior  force  with 
which  thou  shalt  withstand  these  contradictions  can  save 
thee  from  disgrace  and  ruin.  Whilst  laboring  here,  thou 
art  passing  the  season  of  instruction.  Belief  and  full  know- 
ledge will   lead  thee   to  the   near  goal,  if  thou  but  hold  fast 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  73 

what  thou  hast  well  begun.  Bear  her  always  and  truly  in 
thy  thoughts,  her  who  loves  thee  ;  then  shalt  thou  see  the 
marvels  of  the  Golden  Pot,  and  be  happy  forever  more. 
Fare  thee  well !  Archivarius  Lindhorst  expects  thee  to-mor- 
row at  noon  in  thy  cabinet.  Fare  thee  well !  "  With  these 
words  Archivarius  Lindhorst  softly  pushed  the  Student  An- 
selmus  out  of  the  door,  which  he  then  locked  ;  and  An- 
selmus  found  himself  in  the  chamber  where  he  had  dined, 
the  single  door  of  which  led  out  to  the  lobby. 

Altogether  stupefied  with  these  strange  phenomena,  the 
Student  Anselmus  stood  lingering  at  the  street-door;  he 
heard  a  window  open  above  him,  and  looked  up  ;  it  was 
Archivarius  Lindhorst,  quite  the  old  man  again,  in  his  light- 
grey  gown,  as  he  usually  appeared.  The  Archivarius 
called  to  him:  "Hey,  worthy  Herr  Anselmus,  what  are 
you  studying  over  there  ?  Tush,  the  Arabic  is  still  in  your 
head.  My  compliments  to  Herr  Conrector  Paulmann,  if 
you  see  him  ;  and  come  to-morrow  precisely  at  noon.  The 
fee  for  this  day  is  lying  in  your  right  waistcoat-pocket." 
The  Student  Anselmus  actually  found  the  clear  speziestha- 
ler  in  the  pocket  indicated  ;  but  he  took  no  joy  in  it.  "  What 
is  to  come  of  all  this,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  I  know  not;  but 
if  it  be  some  mad  delusion  and  conjuring  work  that  has  laid 
hold  of  me,  the  dear  Serpentina  still  lives  and  moves  in  my 
inward  heart;  and  before  I  leave  her,  I  will  die  altogether  ; 
for  I  know  that  the  thought  in  me  is  eternal,  and  no  hostile 
Principle  can  take  it  from  me ;  and  what  else  is  this  thought 
but  Serpentina's  love. 


VOL.  II 


74  HOFFMANN. 


SEVENTH    VIGIL. 


How    Conrector  Paulmann  knocked   the  Ashes  out.   of  his 
Pipe,  and  went  to  Bed.    Rembrandt  and  Ho  lienor  eughel. 
The  Magic  Mirror;    and  Dr.  Eckstein's   Prescription 
for  an  unknown  Disease. 

At  last  Conrector  Paulmann  knocked  the  ashes  out  of  his 
pipe,  and  said  :  "  Now,  then,  it  is  time  to  go  to  bed." — 
"  Yes,  indeed,"  replied  Veronica,  frightened  at  her  father's 
sitting  so  late  ;  for  ten  had  struck  long  ago.  No  sooner, 
accordingly,  had  the  Conrector  withdrawn  to  his  study  and 
bed-room,  and  Franzchen's  heavy  breathing  signified  that 
she  was  asleep,  than  Veronica,  who,  to  save  appearances, 
had  also  gone  to  bed,  rose  softly,  softly,  out  of  it  again ; 
put  on  her  clothes,  threw  her  mantle  round  her,  and  glided 
out  of  doors. 

Ever  since  the  moment  when  Veronica  had  left  old  Liese, 
Anselmus  had  continually  stood  before  her  eyes;  and  it 
seemed  as  if  a  foreign  voice,  unknown  to  herself,  were  ever 
and  anon  repeating  in  her  soul  that  his  reluctance  sprang 
from  a  hostile  person  holding  him  in  bonds,  which,  by  secret 
means  of  magical  art,  Veronica  might  break.  Her  confi- 
dence in  old  Liese  grew  stronger  every  day  ;  and  even  the 
impression  of  unearthliness  and  horror  by  degrees  softened 
down,  so  that  all  the  mystery  and  strangeness  of  her  relation 
to  the  crone  appeared  before  her  only  in  the  color  of  some* 
thing  singular,  romantic,  and  so  not  a  little  attractive.  Ac- 
cordingly, she  had  a  firm  purpose,  even  at  the  risk  of  being 
missed  from  home,  and  encountering  a  thousand  incon- 
veniences, to  front  the  adventure  of  the  Equinox.  And 
now,  at  last,    the    fateful  night,  in    which    old    Liese    had 


THE    GOLDEN    PCT.  (O 

promised  to  afford  comfort  and  help,  was  come  ;  and  Vero- 
nica, long  used  to  thoughts  of  nightly  wandering,  was  full 
of  heart  and  hope.  With  winged  speed,  she  flew  through 
the  solitary  streets;  heedless  of  the  storm  which  was  howl- 
ing in  the  air,  and  dashing  thick  rain-drops  in  her  face. 

With  stifled,  droning  clang,  the  Kreuzthurm  clock  struck 
eleven,  as  Veronica,  quite  wetted,  reached  old  Liese's 
house.  "  Art  come,  dear  !  wait,  love  ;  wait,  love — "  cried 
a  voice  from  above ;  and  instantly  the  crone,  laden  with  a 
basket,  and  attended  by  her  Cat,  was  also  standing  at  the 
door.  "  We  will  go,  then,  and  do  what  is  proper,  and  can 
prosper  in  the  night,  which  favors  the  work."  So  speaking, 
the  crone  with  her  cold  hand  seized  the  shivering  Veronica, 
to  whom  she  gave  the  heavy  basket  to  carry,  while  she 
herself  produced  a  little  cauldron,  a  trevet,  and  a  spade. 
On  their  reaching  the  open  fields,  the  rain  had  ceased,  but 
the  storm  had  become  louder  ;  howlings  in  a  thousand  tones 
were  flitting  through  the  air.  A  horrible,  heart-piercing 
lamentation  sounded  down  from  the  black  clouds,  which 
rolled  themselves  together,  in  rapid  flight,  and  veiled  all 
things  in  thickest  darkness.  But  the  crone  stept  briskly 
forward,  crying  in  a  shrill,  harsh  voice:  "  Light,  light,  my 
lad  !  "  Then  blue,  forky  gleams  went  quivering  and  sputter- 
ing before  them  ;  and  Veronica  perceived  that  it  was  the 
Cat  emitting  sparks,  and  bounding  forward  to  light  the  way  ; 
while  his  doleful,  ghastly  screams  were  heard  in  the  momen- 
tary pauses  of  the  storm.  Her  heart  was  like  to  fail  ;  it 
was  as  if  ice-cold  talons  were  clutching  into  her  soul  ;  but, 
with  a  strong  effort,  she  collected  herself;  pressed  closer  to 
the  crone,  and  said  :  "  It  must  all  be  accomplished  now, 
come  of  it  what  may  !  " 

"  Right,  right,  little  daughter  !  "  replied  the  crone  ;  u  be 
steady,  like  a  good  girl ;  thou  shalt  have  something  pretty, 
and  Anselmus  to  boot." 


76  HOFFMANN. 

At  last  the  crone  paused,  and  said  :  M  Here  is  the  place  ! " 
She  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground,  then  shook  coals  into  it,  put 
the  trevet  over  them,  and  placed  the  cauldron  on  the  top  of 
it.  All  this  she  accomplished  with  strange  gestures,  while 
the  Cat  kept  circling  round  her.  From  his  tail  there  sput- 
tered sparkles,  which  united  into  a  ring  of  lire.  The  coals 
began  to  burn  ;  and  at  last  blue  flames  rose  up  round  the 
cauldron.  Veronica  was  ordered  to  lay  off  her  mantle  and 
veil,  and  to  cower  down  beside  the  crone,  who  seized  her 
hands,  and  pressed  them  hard,  glaring  with  her  fiery  eyes 
at  the  maiden.  Ere  long  the  strange  materials  (whether 
flowers,  metals,  herbs,  or  beasts,  you  could  not  determine), 
which  the  crone  had  taken  from  her  basket,  and  thrown 
into  the  cauldron,  began  to  seethe  and  foam.  The  crone 
quitted  Veronica;  then  clutched  an  iron  ladle,  and  plunged 
it  into  the  glowing  mass,  which  she  began  to  stir;  while 
Veronica,  as  she  directed,  was  to  look  steadfastly  into  the 
cauldron,  and  fix  her  thoughts  on  Anselmus.  But  now  the 
crone  threw  fresh  ingredients,  glittering  pieces  of  metal,  a 
lock  of  hair  which  Veronica  had  cut  from  her  head,  and  a 
little  ring  which  she  had  long  worn,  into  the  pot  ;  while  she 
howled  in  dread  yelling  tones  through  the  gloom,  and  the 
Cat,  in  quick,  incessant  motion,  whimpered  and  whined. 

I  could  wish  much  that  thou,  favorable  reader,  hadst  on 
this  twenty-third  of  September  been  thyself  travelling  to- 
wards Dresden.  In  vain,  when  late  night  sank  down,  did 
the  people  try  to  retain  thee  at  the  last  stage ;  the  friendly 
host  represented  to  thee  that  the  storm  and  the  rain  were 
too  bitter;  and,  moreover,  that  it  was  not  safe,  for  unearthly 
reasons,  to  rush  away  in  the  dark,  in  the  night  of  the 
Equinox  ;  but  thou  regardedst  him  not,  thinking  within 
thyself:  "I  will  give  the  postilion  a  whole  thaler  of  drink- 
money,  and  so,  at  latest,  by  one  o'clock  reach  Dresden  ; 
where,   in   the    Golden  Angel,  or  in  the  Helmet,   crinthe 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  77 

City  of  Naumburg,  a  well-readied  supper  and  a  soft  bed 
await  me."  And  now,  as  thou  art  driving  hither  through 
the  dark,  thou  suddenly  observest  in  the  distance  a  most 
strange  flickering  light.  Coming  nearer,  thou  perceivest  a 
ring  of  fire  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  it,  beside  a  pot,  out  of 
which  thick  vapor  is  mounting  with  quivering  red  flashes  and 
sparkles,  sit  two  most  diverse  forms.  Right  through  the 
fire  goes  thy  road  ;  but  the  horses  snort,  and  stamp,  and 
rear  ;  the  postilion  curses  and  prays,  and  scourges  his  cattle 
withal  ;  they  stir  not  from  the  spot.  Involuntarily  thou 
leapest  out  of  thy  carriage,  and  hurriest  a  few  steps  for- 
ward. And  now  thou  clearly  beholdest  the  dainty,  gentle 
maiden,  who,  in  her  white,  thin  night-dress,  is  kneeling  by 
the  cauldron.  The  storm  has  loosened  her  braids,  and  the 
long  chesnut-brown  hair  is  floating  free  in  the  wind.  Full 
in  the  dazzling  fire  of  the  flame  flickering  up  under  the 
trevet,  stands  the  angelic  face  ;  but  in  the  horror  which  has 
overflowed  it  with  an  ice-stream,  it  is  stiffened  to  the  pale- 
ness of  death  ;  and  by  the  updrawn  eye-brows,  by  the  mouth 
in  vain  opened  for  the  shriek  of  anguish,  which  cannot  find 
its  way  from  the  bosom  compressed  with  nameless  torture, 
thou  perceivest  her  affright,  her  horror ;  her  soft,  small 
hands  she  holds  aloft  spasmodically  pressed  together,  as  if 
she  were  calling  with  prayers  her  guardian  angel,  to  deliver 
her  from  the  monsters  of  the  Pit,  which  in  obedience  to  this 
potent  spell  are  forthwith  to  appear !  There  kneels  she, 
motionless  as  a  figure  of  marble.  Over  against  her  sits 
cowering  on  the  ground,  a  long,  shrivelled,  copper-yellow 
crone,  with  peaked  hawk-nose,  and  glistering  cat-eyes  ;  from 
the  black  cloak,  which  is  huddled  round  her,  stick  forth  her 
naked  skinny  arms  ;  stirring  the  Hell-broth,  she  laughs  and 
cries  with  creaking  voice,  through  the  raging,  bellowing 
storm.  I  can  well  believe  that  in  thee  too,  favorable  reader, 
though  otherwise   unacquainted    with  fear  and  dread,  there 


78 


HOFFMANN. 


might  have  arisen,  at  the  aspect  of  this  Rembrandt  or  H61I- 
enbreughel  picture,  here  standing  forth  alive,  some  unearthly 
feelings;  nay,  that  for  very  horror  the  hairs  of  thy  head 
might  have  risen  on  end.  But  thy  eye  could  not  turn  away 
from  the  gentle  maiden,  entangled  in  these  infernal  doings ; 
and  the  electric  stroke,  that  quivered  through  all  thy  nerves 
and  fibres,  kindled  in  thee  with  the  speed  of  lightning  the 
courageous  thought  of  defying  the  mysterious  powers  of  the 
fire-circle;  and  in  this  thought,  thy  horror  disappeared; 
nay,  the  thought  itself  sprang  up  from  that  very  horror  as 
its  product.  Thy  heart  felt  as  if  thou  thyself  wert  one  of 
those  guardian  angels,  to  whom  the  maiden,  terrified  to 
death,  was  praying  ;  nay,  as  if  thou  must  instantly  lug  forth 
thy  pocket-pistol,  and  without  more  ceremony  blow  the  hag's 
brains  out.  But  while  thou  wert  thinking  all  this  most  vivid- 
ly, thou  criedst  aloud  "Holla!"  or  "What's  the  matter 
here  ?  "  or  "  What 's  a-doing  there  ?  "  The  postilion  blew  a 
clanging  blast  on  his  horn  ;  the  witch  ladled  about  in  her 
b  re  wage,  and  in  a  trice  the  whole  had  vanished  in  thick 
smoke.  Whether  thou  wouldst  then  have  found  the  maiden, 
whom  with  most  heartfelt  longing  thou  wert  groping  for  in 
the  darkness,  I  cannot  say  ;  but  the  spell  of  the  witch  thou 
hadst  of  a  surety  destroyed,  and  undone  the  magic  circle 
into  which  Veronica  had  thoughtlessly  entered. 

Alas !  Neither  thou,  favorable  reader,  nor  any  other  man 
either  drove  or  walked  this  way,  on  the  twenty-third  of  Sep- 
tember, in  the  tempestuous  witch-favoring  night ;  and  Veron- 
ica must  abide  by  the  cauldron,  in  deadly  terror,  till  the 
work  was  near  its  close.  She  heard,  indeed,  what  howling 
and  raging  there  was  around  her  ;  how  all  sorts  of  hateful 
voices  bellowed  and  bleated,  and  yelled  and  hummed  ;  but 
she  opened  not  her  eyes,  for  she  felt  that  the  sight  of  the 
abominations  and  the  horrors  with  which  she  was' encircled 
might  drive  her   into  incurable,   destroying  madness.     The 


THE    GOLDEN    POT. 


79 


hag  had  ceased  to  stir  the  pot;  its  smoke  grew  fainter  and 
fainter ;  and  at  last,  nothing  but  a  light  spirit-flame  was 
burning  in  the  bottom.  Then  the  beldam  cried  :  "  Veron- 
ica,  my  child  !  my  darling  !  look  into  the  grounds  there ! 
What  seest  thou  ?     What  seest  thou  ?  " 

Veronica  could  not  answer,  yet  it  seemed  as  if  all  manner 
of  perplexed  shapes  were  dancing  and  whirling  in  the  caul- 
dron ;  and  on  a  sudden,  with  friendly  looks,  and  reaching 
her  his  hand,  rose  the  Student  Anselmus  from  the  cavity 
of  the  vessel.  She  cried  aloud:  "It  is  Anselmus!  It  is 
Anselmus !  " 

Instantly  the  crone  turned  the  cock  fixed  at  the  bottom  of 
the  cauldron,  and  glowing  metal  rushed  forth,  hissing  and 
bubbling,  into  a  little  mould  which  she  had  placed  beside  it. 
The  hag  now  sprang  aloft  ;  and  shrieked,  capering  about 
with  wild,  horrific  gestures  :  u  It  is  done  !  It  is  done  !  Thanks, 
my  pretty  lad  ;  hast  watched  ?  —  Pooh,  pooh,  he  is  coming! 
Bite  him  to  death  !  Bite  him  to  death  !  "  But  there  sounded 
a  strong  rushing  through  the  air  ;  it  was  as  if  a  huge  eagle 
were  pouncing  down,  striking  round  him  with  his  pinions; 
and  there  shouted  a  tremendous  voice :  "  Hey,  hey,  ver- 
min !  —  It  is  over  !  It  is  over  !  —  Home  with  ye  !  "  The 
crone  sank  down  with  bitter  howling  ;  but  Veronica's  sense 
and  recollection  forsook  her. 

On  her  returning  to  herself,  it  was  broad  day,  she  was 
lying  in  her  bed,  and  Franzchen  was  standing  before  her 
with  a  cup  of  steaming  tea,  and  saying  to  her :  "  But  tell 
me  then,  sister,  what  in  all  the  world  ails  thee  ?  Here  have 
I  been  standing  this  hour,  and  thou  lying  senseless,  as  if  in 
the  heat  of  a  fever,  and  moaning  and  whimpering  till  we 
are  frightened  to  death.  Father  has  not  gone  to  his  class, 
this  morning,  because  of  thee ;  he  will  be  here  directly  with 
the  Doctor." 

Veronica  took  the  tea  in  silence  ;  and   while  drinking  it, 


80  HOFFMANN. 

the  horrid  images  of  the  night  rose  vividly  before  her  eyes. 
"  So  it  was  all  nothing  but  a  wild  dream  that  tortured  me  ? 
Yet  last  night  I  surely  went  to  that  old  woman  ;  it  was  the 
twenty-third  of  September  too  ?  Well,  I  must  have  been 
very  sick  last  night,  and  so  fancied  all  this ;  and  nothing 
has  sickened  me  but  my  perpetual  thinking  of  Anselmus, 
and  the  strange  old  wife  who  gave  herself  out  for  Liese, 
but  was  no  such  thing,  and  only  made  a  fool  of  me  with 
that  story." 

Franzchen,  who  had  left  the  room,  again  came  in  with 
Veronica's  mantle,  all  wet,  in  her  hand.  "  Do  but  look, 
sister,"  said  she,  "  what  a  sight  thy  mantle  is  !  There  has 
the  storm  over  night  blown  up  the  window,  and  overset  the 
chair  where  thy  mantle  was  hanging  ;  and  so  the  rain  has 
come  in,  and  wetted  it  all  for  thee." 

This  speech  sank  heavy  on  Veronica's  heart ;  for  she  now 
saw  that  it  was  no  dream  which  had  tormented  her;  but 
that  she  had  really  been  with  the  witch.  Anguish  and  horror 
took  hold  of  her  at  the  thought  ;  and  a  fever-frost  quivered 
through  all  her  frame.  In  spasmodic  shuddering,  she  drew 
the  bed-clothes  close  over  her  ;  but  with  this,  she  felt  some- 
thing hard  pressing  on  her  breast,  and  on  grasping  it  with 
her  hand,  it  seemed  like  a  medallion  ;  she  drew  it  out,  so 
soon  as  Franzchen  went  away  with  the  mantle  ;  it  was  a 
little,  round,  bright-polished,  metallic  mirror.  "  This  is  a 
present  from  the  woman,"  cried  she  eagerly  ;  and  it  was  as 
if  fiery  beams  were  shooting  from  the  mirror,  and  penetrat- 
ing into  her  inmost  soul  with  benignant  warmth.  The  fever- 
frost  was  gone  ;  and  there  streamed  through  her  whole 
being  an  unutterable  feeling  of  contentment  and  cheerful 
delight.  She  could  not  but  remember  Anselmus  ;  and  as 
she  turned  her  thoughts  more  and  more  intensely  on  him, 
behold  he  smiled  on  her  with  friendly  looks  out  of  the 
mirror,  like  a  living   miniature  portrait.     But  ere  long  she 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  81 

felt  as  if  it  were  no  longer  the  image  which  she  saw  ;  no! 
but  the  Student  Anselmus  himself  alive  and  in  person.  He 
was  sitting  in  a  stately  chamber,  with  the  strangest  furniture 
and  diligently  writing.  Veronica  was  about  to  step  forward, 
to  pat  his  shoulder,  and  say  to  him  :  "  Herr  Anselmus,  look 
round  ;  it  is  I  !  "  But  she  could  not  ;  for  it  was  as  if  a 
fire-stream  encircled  him  ;  and  yet  when  she  looked  more 
narrowly,  this  fire-stream  was  nothing  but  large  books  with 
gilt  leaves.  At  last  Veronica  so  far  succeeded  that  she 
caught  Anselmus's  eye;  it  seemed  as  if  he  needed,  in  gaz- 
ing at  her,  to  bethink  himself  who  she  was;  but  at  last  he 
smiled  and  said  :  "  Ah  !  Is  it  you,  dear  Mademoiselle  Paul- 
mann  !  But  why  do  you  please  now  and  then  to  take  the 
form  of  a  little  Snake  ?  "  At  these  strange  words,  Veronica 
could  not  help  laughing  aloud  ;  and  with  this  she  awoke  as 
from  a  deep  dream  ;  and  hastily  concealed  the  little  mirror, 
for  the  door  opened,  and  Conrector  Paulmann  with  Doctor 
Eckstein  entered  the  room.  Doctor  Eckstein  stept  for- 
ward to  the  bedside ;  felt  Veronica's  pulse  with  long,  pro- 
found study,  and  then  said  :  u  Ey  !  Ey  !  "  Thereupon  he 
wrote  out  a  prescription  ;  again  felt  the  pulse  ;  a  second 
time  said  :  "  Ey  !  Ey  !  "  and  then  left  his  patient.  But 
from  these  disclosures  of  Doctor  Eckstein's,  Conrector  Paul- 
mann could  not  clearly  make  out  what  it  was  that  partic- 
ularly ailed  Veronica. 

EIGHTH  VIGIL. 

The  Library  of  the  Palm-trees.  Fortunes  of  an  unhappy 
Salamander.  How  the  Black  Quill  caressed  a  Pars- 
nip, and  Registrator  Heerorand  was  much  overtaken  with 
Liquor. 

The  Student  Anselmus  had  now  worked  several  days  with 


82 


HOFFMANN. 


Archivarius  Lindhorst.  These  working  hours  were  for  him 
the  happiest  of  his  life  ;  still  encircled  with  lovely  tones, 
with  Serpentina's  encouraging  voice,  he  was  filled  and  over- 
flowed with  a  pure  delight,  which  often  rose  to  highest  rap- 
ture. Every  strait,  every  little  care  of  his  needy  existence, 
had  vanished  from  his  thoughts;  and  in  the  new  life  which 
had  risen  on  him,  as  in  serene,  sunny  splendor,  he  compre- 
hended all  the  wonders  of  a  higher  world,  which  before  had 
filled  him  with  astonishment,  nay,  with  dread.  His  copy- 
ing proceeded  rapidly  and  lightly ;  for  he  felt  more  and 
more  as  if  he  were  writing  characters  long  known  to  him  ; 
and  he  scarcely  needed  to  cast,  his  eye  upon  the  manuscript, 
while  copying  it  all  with  the  greatest  exactness. 

Except  at  the  hour  of  dinner,  Archivarius  Lindhorst  sel- 
dom made  his  appearance  ;  and  this  always  precisely  at  the 
moment  when  Anselmus  had  finished  the  last  letter  of  some 
manuscript  ;  then  the  Archivarius  would  hand  him  another, 
and  directly  afler,  leave  him,  without  uttering  a  word  ;  hav- 
ing first  stirred  the  ink  with  a  little  black  rod,  and  changed 
the  old  pens  with  new  sharp-pointed  ones.  One  day,  when 
Anselmus,  at  the  stroke  of  twelve,  had  as  usual  mounted 
the  stair,  he  found  the  door,  through  which  he  commonly 
entered,  standing  locked  ;  and  Archivarius  Lindhorst  came 
forward  from  the  other  side,  dressed  in  his  strange,  flower- 
figured  night-gown.  He  called  aloud  :  "  To-day  come  this 
way,  good  Herr  Anselmus;  for  we  must  to  the  chamber 
where  Bhogovotgita's  masters  are  waiting  for  us." 

He  stept  along  the  corridor,  and  led  Anselmus  through 
the  same  chambers  and  halls  as  at  the  first  visit.  The 
Student  Anselmus  again  felt  astonished  at  the  marvellous 
beauty  of  the  garden  ;  but  he  now  perceived  that  many  of 
the  strange  flowers,  hanging  on  the  dark  bushes,  were  in 
truth  insects  glancing  with  lordly  colors,  hovering  up  and 
down  with  their  little  wings,  as  they  danced    and   whirled  in 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  83 

clusters,  caressing  one  another  with  their  antennae.     On  the 
other  hand  again,   the   rose   and  azure-colored   birds   were 
odoriferous  flowers  ;  and  the  perfume,  which  they  scattered, 
mounted  from    their  cups  in   low,   lovely  tones,  which,  with 
the  gurgling  of  distant  fountains,  and  the  sighing  of  the  high 
groves  and   trees,   mingled  themselves  into   mysterious  ac- 
cords  of    a    deep,    unutterable  longing.     The  mock-birds, 
which  had    so  jeered   and   flouted    him   before,   were   again 
fluttering  to  and  fro  over   his   head,  and  crying   incessantly 
with  their  sharp  small  voices:  u  Herr  Studiosus,  Herr  Studi- 
osus,  do  n't  be  in  such  a  hurry  !    Don't  peep  into  the  clouds 
so!     They  may    fall   about   your   ears  —  He!    He!    Herr 
Studiosus,  put  your  powder-mantle  on  ;  cousin  Screech-Owl 
will  frizzle  your   toupee."     And   so   it  went  along,   in   all 
manner  of  stupid  chatter,  till  Anselmus  left  the  garden. 

Archivarius  Lindhorst  at  last  stept  into  the  azure  cham- 
ber ;  the  porphyry,  with  the  Golden  Pot,  was  gone  ;  instead 
of  it,  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  stood  a  table  overhung 
with  violet-colored  satin,  upon  which  lay  the  writing-ware 
already  known  to  Anselmus  ;  and  a  stuffed  arm-chair,  cov- 
ered with  the  same  sort  of  cloth,  was  placed  beside  it. 

"Dear  Herr  Anselmus,"  said  Archivarius  Lindhorst 
u  you  have  now  copied  me  a  number  of  manuscripts,  rapidly 
and  correctly,  to  my  no  small  contentment ;  you  have  gained 
my  confidence  ;  but  the  hardest  is  yet  behind  ;  and  that  is 
the  transcribing  or  rather  painting  of  certain  works,  written 
in  a  peculiar  character  ;  I  keep  them  in  this  room,  and  they 
can  only  be  copied  on  the  spot.  You  will,  therefore,  in 
future,  work  here  ;  but  I  must  recommend  to  you  the  great- 
est foresight  and  attention  ;  a  false  stroke,  or,  which  may 
Heaven  forefend,  a  blot  let  fall  on  the  original,  will  plunge 
you  into  misfortune." 

Anselmus  observed   that  from   the   golden  trunks  of  the 
palm-trees  little   emerald   leaves  projected  ;    one   of   these 


84  HOFFMANN. 

leaves  the  Archivarius  took  hold  of;  and  Anselmus  could 
not  but  perceive  that  the  leaf  was  in  truth  a  roll  of  parch- 
ment, which  the  Archivarius  unfolded,  and  spread  out  be- 
fore the  Student  on  the  table.  Anselmus  wondered  not  a 
little  at  these  strangely  intertwisted  characters;  and  as  he 
looked  over  the  many  points,  strokes,  dashes,  and  twirls  in 
the  manuscript,  he  almost  lost  hope  of  ever  copying  it.  He 
fell  into  deep  thoughts  on  the  subject. 

44  Be  of  courage,  young  man!"  cried  the  Archivarius; 
"  if  thou  hast  continuing  Belief  and  true  Love,  Serpentina 
will  help  thee." 

His  voice  sounded  like  ringing  metal;  and  as  Anselmus 
looked  up  in  utter  terror,  Archivarius  Lindhorst  was  standing 
before  him  in  the  kingly  form  which,  during  the  first  visit, 
he  had  assumed  in  the  library.  Anselmus  felt  as  if  in  his 
deep  reverence  he  could  not  but  sink  on  his  knee  ;  but  the 
Archivarius  stept  up  the  trunk  of  a  palm-tree  and  vanished 
aloft  among  the  emerald  leaves.  The  Student  Anselmus 
perceived  that  the  Prince  of  the  Spirits  had  been  speaking 
with  him,  and  was  now  gone  up  to  his  study;  perhaps 
intending,  by  the  beams  which  some  of  the  Planets  had 
dispatched  to  him  as  envoys,  to  send  back  word  what  was  to 
become  of  Anselmus  and  Serpentina. 

"  It  may  be  too,"  thought  he  farther,  "that  he  is  expect- 
ing news  from  the  Springs  of  the  Nile  ;  or  that  some  magi- 
cian from  Lapland  is  paying  him  a  visit ;  me  it  behoves  to 
set  diligently  about  my  task."  And  with  this,  he  began 
studying  the  foreign  characters  in  the  roll  of  parchment. 

The  strange  music  of  the  garden  sounded  over  to  him,  and 
encircled  him  with  sweet,  lovely  odors ;  the  mock-birds  too 
he  still  heard  giggling  and  twittering,  but  could  not  distinguish 
their  words,  a  thing  which  greatly  pleased  him.  At  limes 
also  it  was  as  if  the  leaves  of  the  palm-trees  were  rustling, 
and  as  if  the  clear,  crystal  tones,  which  Anselmus  on  that 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  85 

fateful  Ascension-day  had  heard  under  the  elder-bush,  were 
beaming  and  flitting  through  the  room.  Wonderfully 
strengthened  by  this  shining  and  tinkling,  the  Student  An- 
selmus  directed  his  eyes  and  thoughts  more  and  more  in- 
tensely on  the  superscription  of  the  parchment  roll;  and  ere 
long  he  felt,  as  it  were  from  his  inmost  soul,  that  the  char- 
acters could  denote  nothing  else  than  these  words :  Of  the 
marriage  of  the  Salamander  with  the  green  Snake.  Then 
resounded  a  louder  triphony  of  clear  crystal  bells;  "Ansel- 
mus  !  dear  Anselmus  !"  floated  to  him  from  the  leaves; 
and,  O  wonder!  on  the  trunk  of  the  palm-tree  the  green 
Snake  came  winding  down. 

"Serpentina!  Serpentina!"  cried  Anselmus,  in  the  mad- 
ness of  highest  rapture  ;  for  as  he  gazed  more  earnestly, 
it  was  in  truth  a  lovely,  glorious  maiden  that,  looking  at  him 
with  those  dark  blue  eyes,  full  of  inexpressible  longing,  as 
they  lived  in  his  heart,  was  hovering  down  to  meet  him. 
The  leaves  seemed  to  jut  out  and  expand;  on  every  hand 
were  prickles  sprouting  from  the  trunk  ;  but  Serpentina 
twisted  and  winded  herself  deftly  through  them  ;  and  so 
drew  her  fluttering  robe,  glancing  as  if  in  changeful  colors, 
along  with  her,  that,  plying  round  the  dainty  form,  it  nowhere 
caught  on  the  projecting  points  and  prickles  of  the  palm- 
tree.  She  sat  down  by  Anselmus  on  the  same  chair,  clasp- 
ing him  with  her  arm,  and  pressing  him  towards  her,  so 
that  he  felt  the  breath  which  came  from  her  lips,  and  the 
electric  warmth  of  her  frame. 

"  Dear  Anselmus  !"  began  Serpentina,  "thou  shalt  now 
soon  be  wholly  mine  ;  by  thy  Belief,  by  thy  Love,  thou  shalt 
obtain  me,  and  I  will  bring  thee  the  Golden  Pot,  which  shall 
make  us  both  happy  for  evermore." 

"  O  thou  kind,  lovely  Serpentina  !  "  said  Anselmus,  "  if  I 
have  but  thee,  what  care  I  for  all  else  !  if  thou  art  but  mine, 

VOL.  II.  8 


86 


HOFFMANN. 


I  will  joyfully  give  in  to  all  the  wondrous  mysteries  that  have 
beset  me  ever  since  the  moment  when  I  first  saw  thee." 

"  I  know,"  continued  Serpentina,  "  that  the  strange  and 
mysterious  things,  with  which  my  father,  often  merely  in 
the  sport  of  his  humor,  has  surrounded  thee,  have  raised 
distrust  and  dread  in  thy  mind  ;  but  now,  I  hope,  it  shall  be 
so  no  more  ;  for  I  come  at  this  moment  to  tell  thee,  dear 
Anselmus,  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart  and  soul,  all  and 
sundry  to  a  tittle  that  thou  needest  to  know  for  under- 
standing my  father,  and  so  for  seeing  clearly  what  thy 
relation  to  him  and  to  me  really  is." 

Anselmus  felt  as  if  he  were  so  wholly  clasped  and  encir- 
cled by  the  gentle,  lovely  form,  that  only  with  her  could  he 
move  and  live,  and  as  if  it  were  but  the  beating  of  her  pulse 
that  throbbed  through  his  nerves  and  fibres ;  he  listened  to 
each  one  of  her  words  till  it  sounded  in  his  inmost  heart, 
and,  like  a  burning  ray,  kindled  in  him  the  rapture  of 
Heaven.  He  had  put  his  arm  round  that  daintier  than 
dainty  waist  ;  but  the  changeful,  glistering  cloth  of  her  robe 
was  so  smooth  and  slippery  that  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  she 
could  at  any  moment  wind  herself  from  his  arms,  and  glide 
away.      He  trembled  at  the  thought. 

"Ah,  do  not  leave  me,  gentlest  Serpentina  !"  cried  he; 
44  thou  art  my  life." 

"  Not  now,"  said  Serpentina,  "  till  I  have  told  thee  all 
that  in  thy  love  of  me  thou  canst  comprehend  : 

"Know  then,  dearest,  that  my  father  is  sprung  from  the 
wondrous  race  of  the  Salamanders ;  and  that  I  owe  my  ex- 
istence to  his  love  for  the  green  Snake.  In  primeval  times, 
in  the  Fairyland  Atlantis,  the  potent  Spirit-prince  Phospho- 
rus bore  rule  ;  and  to  him  the  Salamanders,  and  other 
Spirits  of  the  Elements,  were  plighted.  Once  on  a  time, 
the  Salamander,  whom  he  loved  before  all  others  (it  was 
my  father),  chanced  to  be   walking  in  the  stately  garden, 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  87 

which  Phosphorus's  mother  had  decked  in  the  lordliest  fash- 
ion with  her  best  gifts  ;  and  the  Salamander  heard  a  tall 
Lily  singing  in  low  tones:  'Press  down  thy  little  eyelids, 
till  my  Lover,  the  Morning-wind,  awake  thee.'  He  stept 
towards  it;  touched  by  his  glowing  breath,  the  Lily  opened 
her  leaves ;  and  he  saw  the  Lily's  daughter,  the  green 
Snake,  lying  asleep  in  the  hollow  of  the  flower.  Then  was 
the  Salamander  inflamed  with  warm  love  for  the  fair  Snake; 
and  he  carried  her  away  from  the  Lily,  whose  perfumes 
in  nameless  lamentation  vainly  called  for  her  beloved  daugh- 
ter throughout  all  the  garden.  For  the  Salamander  had 
borne  her  into  the  palace  of  Phosphorus,  and  was  there 
beseeching  him  :  '  Wed  me  with  my  beloved,  and  she  shall 
be  mine  for  evermore.' — '  Madman,  what  askest  thou  ?'  said 
the  Prince  of  the  Spirits.  '  Know  that  once  the  Lily  was  my 
mistress,  and  bore  rule  with  me  ;  but  the  Spark,  which  I 
cast  into  her,  threatened  to  annihilate  the  fair  Lily  ;  and 
only  my  victory  over  the  black  Dragon,  whom  now  the 
Spirits  of  the  Earth  hold  in  fetters,  maintains  her,  that  her 
leaves  continue  strong  enough  to  enclose  this  Spark,  and 
preserve  it  within  them.  But  when  thou  ciaspest  the  green 
Snake,  thy  fire  will  consume  her  frame;  and  a  new  Being, 
rapidly  arising  from  her  dust,  will  soar  away  and  leave 
thee.' 

"  The  Salamander  heeded  not  the  warning  of  the  Spirit- 
prince  ;  full  of  longing  ardor  he  folded  the  green  Snake 
in  his  arms;  she  crumbled  into  ashes;  a  winged  Being, 
born  from  her  dust,  soared  away  through  the  sky.  Then 
the  madness  of  desperation  caught  the  Salamander ;  and  he 
ran  through  the  garden,  dashing  forth  fire  and  flames;  and 
wasted  it  in  his  wild  fury,  till  its  fairest  flowers  and  blossoms 
hung  down,  blackened  and  scathed  ;  and  their  lamentation 
filled  the  air.  The  indignant  Prince  of  the  Spirits,  in  his 
wrath,  laid  hold  of  the   Salamander,  and  said:  'Thy  fire 


HOFFMANN. 


has  burnt  out,  thy  flames  are  extinguished,  thy  rays  dark- 
ened ;  sink  down  to  the  Spirits  of  the  Earth  ;  let  these 
mock  and  jeer  thee,  and  keep  thee  captive,  till  the  Fire- 
element  shall  again  kindle,  and  beam  up  with  thee  as  with 
a  new  being  from  the  Earth.'  The  poor  Salamander  sank 
down  extinguished  ;  but  now  the  testy  old  Earth-spirit,  who 
was  Phosphorus's  gardener,  came  forth  and  said  :  'Master! 
who  has  greater  cause  to  complain  of  the  Salamander  than 
I  ?  Had  not  all  the  fair  flowers,  which  he  has  burnt,  been 
decorated  with  my  gayest  metals?  had  I  not  stoutly  nursed 
and  tended  them,  and  spent  many  a  fair  hue  on  their 
leaves?  And  yet  I  must  pity  the  poor  Salamander;  for  it 
was  but  love,  in  which  thou,  O  Master,  hast  full  often  been 
entangled,  that  drove  him  to  despair,  and  made  him  desolate 
the  garden.  Remit  him  the  too  harsh  punishment!' — 'His 
fire  is  for  the  present  extinguished,'  said  the  Prince  of  the 
Spirits ;  '  but  in  the  hapless  time,  when  the  Speech  of  Na- 
ture shall  no  longer  be  intelligible  to  degenerate  man  ;  when 
the  Spirits  of  the  Elements,  banished  into  their  own  regions, 
shall  speak  to  him  only  from  afar,  in  faint,  spent  echoes ; 
when,  displaced  from  the  harmonious  circle,  an  infinite 
longing  alone  shall  give  him  tidings  of  the  land  of  Marvels, 
which  he  once  might  inhabit  while  Belief  and  Love  still 
dwelt  in  his  soul ;  in  this  hapless  time,  the  fire  of  the  Sala- 
mander shall  again  kindle ;  but  only  to  manhood  shall  he  be 
permitted  to  rise,  and  entering  wholly  into  man's  necessitous 
existence,  he  shall  learn  to  endure  its  wants  and  oppressions. 
Yet  not  only  shall  the  remembrance  of  his  first  state  con- 
tinue with  him,  but  he  shall  again  rise  into  the  sacred  har- 
mony of  all  Nature  ;  he  shall  understand  its  wonders,  and 
the  power  of  his  fellow-spirits  shall  stand  at  his  behest. 
Then,  too,  in  a  Lily-bush  shall  he  find  the  green  Snake 
again  ;  and  the  fruit  of  his  marriage  with  her  shall  be  three 
daughters,  which,  to  men,  shall  appear  in  the  form  of  their 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  89 

mother.  In  the  spring  season  these  shall  disport  them  in 
the  dark  Elder-bush,  and  sound  with  their  lovely  crystal 
voices.  And  then  if,  in  that  needy  and  mean  age  of  inward 
stuntedness,  there  shall  be  found  a  youth  who  understands 
their  song  ;  nay,  if  one  of  the  little  Snakes  look  at  him  with 
her  kind  eyes;  if  the  look  awaken  in  him  forecastings  of 
the  distant,  wondrous  Land,  to  which,  having  cast  away  the 
burden  of  the  Common,  he  can  courageously  soar  ;  if,  with 
love  to  the  Snake,  there  rise  in  him  belief  in  the  Wonders 
of  Nature,  nay,  in  his  own  existence  amid  these  Wonders, 
then  the  Snake  shall  be  his.  But  not  till  three  youths  of 
this  sort  have  been  found  and  wedded  to  the  three  daugh- 
ters, may  the  Salamander  cast  away  his  heavy  burden,  and 
return  to  his  brothers.' — ■  Permit  me,  Master,'  said  the 
Earth-spirit,  '  to  make  these  three  daughters  a  present,  which 
may  glorify  their  life  with  the  husbands  they  shall  find. 
Let  each  of  them  receive  from  me  a  Pot,  of  the  fairest 
metal  which  I  have  ;  I  will  polish  it  with  beams  borrowed 
from  the  diamond  ;  in  its  glitter  shall  our  Kingdom  of  Won- 
ders, as  it  now  exists  in  the  Harmony  of  universal  Nature, 
be  imaged  back  in  glorious,  dazzling  reflection  ;  and  from 
its  interior,  on  the  day  of  marriage,  shall  spring  forth  a 
Fire-lily,  whose  eternal  blossoms  shall  encircle  the  youth 
that  is  found  worthy  with  sweet  wafting  odors.  Soon 
too  shall  he  learn  its  speech,  and  understand  the  wonders 
of  our  kingdom,  and  dwell  with  his  beloved  in  Atlantis 
itself.' 

"  Thou  perceivest  well,  dear  Anselmus,  that  the  Salaman- 
der of  whom  I  speak  is  no  other  than  my  father.  Spite  of 
his  higher  nature,  he  was  forced  to  subject  himself  to  the 
paltriest  contradictions  of  common  life  ;  and  hence,  indeed, 
often  comes  the  wayward  humor  with  which  he  vexes  many. 
He  has  told  me  now  and  then,  that,  for  the  inward  make  of 
mind,  which  the  Spirit-prince  Phosphorus  required  as  a  con- 
8* 


90 


HOFFMANN. 


dition  of  marriage  with  me  and  my  sisters,  men  have  a 
name  at  present,  which,  in  truth,  they  frequently  enough 
misapply  ;  they  call  it  a  childlike,  poetic  character.  This 
character,  he  says,  is  often  found  in  youths,  who,  by  reason 
of  their  high  simplicity  of  manners,  and  their  total  want  of 
what  is  called  knowledge  of  the  world,  are  mocked  by  the 
populace.  Ah,  dear  Anselmus!  beneath  the  Elder-bush, 
thou  understoodest  my  song,  my  look  ;  thou  lovest  the  green 
Snake,  thou  believest  in  me,  and  wilt  be  mine  for  evermore  ! 
The  fair  Lily  will  bloom  forth  from  the  Golden  Pot ;  and 
we  shall  dwell,  happy,  and  united,  and  blessed,  in  Atlantis 
together ! 

"  Yet  I  must  not  hide  from  thee,  that,  in  its  deadly  battle 
with  the  Salamanders  and  Spirits  of  the  Earth,  the  black 
Dragon  burst  from  their  grasp,  and  hurried  off  through  the 
air.  Phosphorus,  indeed,  again  holds  him  in  fetters  ;  but 
from  the  black  Quills,  which,  in  the  struggle,  rained  down 
on  the  ground,  there  sprung  up  hostile  Spirits,  which  on  all 
hands  set  themselves  against  the  Salamanders  and  Spirits  of 
the  Earth.  That  woman  who  so  hates  thee,  dear  Anselmus, 
and  who,  as  my  father  knows  full  well,  is  striving  for 
possession  of  the  Golden  Pot ;  that  woman  owes  her  exis- 
tence to  the  love  of  such  a  Quill  ( plucked  in  battle  from 
the  Dragon's  wing)  for  a  certain  Parsnip  beside  which  it 
dropped.  She  knows  her  origin  and  her  power;  for,  in  the 
moans  and  convulsions  of  the  captive  Dragon,  the  secrets 
of  many  a  mysterious  constellation  are  revealed  to  her  ; 
and  she  uses  every  means  and  effort  to  work  from  the  Out- 
ward into  the  Inward  and  unseen  ;  while  my  father,  with  the 
beams  which  shoot  forth  from  the  spirit  of  the  Salamander, 
withstands  and  subdues  her.  All  the  baneful  principles, 
which  lurk  in  deadly  herbs  and  poisonous  beasts,  she  col- 
lects ;  and,  mixing  them  under  favorable  constellations, 
raises  therewith  many  a  wicked  spell,  which  overwhelms  the 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  91 

soul  of  man  with  fear  and  trembling,  and  subjects  him  to 
the  power  of  those  Demons  produced  from  the  Dragon 
when  it  yielded  in  battle.  Beware  of  that  old  woman,  dear 
Anselmus!  She  hates  thee,  because  thy  childlike,  pious 
character  has  annihilated  many  of  her  wicked  charms. 
Keep  true,  true  to  me  ;  soon  art  thou  at  the  goal  !  " 

"  O  my  Serpentina !  my  own  Serpentina  ! "  cried  the 
Student  Anselmus,  "  how  could  I  leave  thee,  how  should  I 
not  love  thee  forever  !  "  A  kiss  was  burning  on  his  lips  ; 
he  awoke  as  from  a  deep  dream  ;  Serpentina  had  vanished  ; 
six  o\:lock  was  striking,  and  it  fell  heavy  on  his  heart  that 
to-day  he  had  not  copied  a  single  stroke.  Full  of  anxiety, 
and  dreading  reproaches  from  the  Archivarius,  he  looked 
into  the  sheet ;  and,  O  wonder !  the  copy  of  the  mysterious 
manuscript  was  fairly  concluded  ;  and  he  thought,  on  view- 
ing the  characters  more  narrowly,  that  the  writing  was 
nothing  else  but  Serpentina's  story  of  her  father,  the  favorite 
of  the  Spirit-prince  Phosphorus,  in  Atlantis,  the  Land  of 
Marvels.  And  now  entered  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  in  his 
light-grey  surtout,  with  hat  and  staff;  he  looked  into  the 
parchment  on  which  Anselmus  had  been  writing;  took  a 
large  pinch  of  snuff,  and  said  with  a  smile  :  "  Just  as  I 
thought!  —  Well,  Herr  Anselmus,  here  is  your  spezies- 
thaler  ;  we  will  now  to  the  Linke  Bath ;  do  but  follow  me!  V 
The  Archivarius  st.ept  rapidly  through  the  garden,  in  which 
there  was  such  a  din  of  singing,  whistling,  talking,  that  the 
Student  Anselmus  was  quite  deafened  with  it,  and  thanked 
Heaven  when  he  found  himself  on  the  street. 

Scarcely  had  they  walked  twenty  paces,  when  they  met 
Registrator  Heerbrand,  who  companionably  joined  them. 
At  the  Gate,  they  filled  their  pipes,  which  they  had  about 
them  ;  Registrator  Heerbrand  complained  that  he  had  left 
his  tinder-box  behind,  and  could  not  strike  fire.  "Fire!" 
cried    Archivarius    Lindhorst,    scornfully ;    "  here    is    fire 


92  HOFFMANN. 

enough,  and  to  spare !  "  And  with  this  he  snapped  his 
fingers,  out  of  which  came  streams  of  sparks,  and  directly- 
kindled  the  pipes. — "  Do  but  observe  the  chemical  knack 
of  some  men  !  "  said  Registrator  Heerbrand  ;  but  the  Stu- 
dent Anselmus  thought,  not  without  internal  awe,  of  the 
Salamander  and  his  history. 

In  the  Linke  Bath,  Registrator  Heerbrand  drank  so  much 
strong  double  beer,  that  at  last,  though  usually  a  good-na- 
tured, quiet  man,  he  began  singing  student  songs  in  squeak- 
ing tenor;  he  asked  every  one  sharply,  whether  he  was  his 
friend  or  not;  and  at  last  had  to  be  taken  home  by  the 
Student  Anselmus,  long  after  Archivarius  Lindhorst  had 
gone  his  ways. 


NINTH    VIGIL. 

How  the  Student  Anselmus  attained  to  some  Sense.  The 
Punch  Party.  How  the  Student  Anselmus  took  Conrec- 
tor  Paulmann  for  a  Screech- Owl,  and  the  latter  felt 
much  hurt  at  it.      The  Ink-blot,  and  its  Consequences. 

The  strange  and  mysterious  things,  which  day  by  day- 
befell  the  Student  Anselmus,  had  entirely  withdrawn  him 
from  his  customary  life.  He  no  longer  visited  any  of  his 
friends,  and  waited  every  morning  with  impatience  for  the 
hour  of  noon,  which  was  to  unlock  his  paradise.  And  yet, 
while  his  whole  soul  was  turned  to  the  gentle  Serpentina, 
and  the  wonders  of  Archivarius  Lindhorst's  fairy  kingdom, 
lie  could  not  help  now  and  then  thinking  of  Veronica  ;  nay, 
often  it  seemed  as  if  she  came  before  him  and  confessed 
with  blushes  how  heartily  she  loved  him  ;  how  much  she 
longed  to  rescue  him  from  the  phantoms  which  were  mock- 
ing and   befooling  him.     At  times  he   felt  as  if  a  foreign 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  93 

power,  suddenly  breaking  in  on  his  mind,  were  drawing  him 
with  resistless  force  to  the  forgotten  Veronica  ;  as  if  he  must 
needs  follow  her  whither  she  pleased  to  lead  him,  nay,  as  if 
he  were  bound  to  her  by  ties  that  would  not  break.  That 
very  night  after  Serpentina  had  first  appeared  to  him  in  the 
form  of  a  lovely  maiden,  after  the  wondrous  secret  of  the 
Salamander's  nuptials  with  the  green  Snake  had  been  dis- 
closed, Veronica  came  before  him  more  vividly  than  ever. 
Nay,  not  till  he  awoke,  was  he  clearly  aware  that  he  had 
but  been  dreaming ;  for  he  had  felt  persuaded  that  Veronica 
was  actually  beside  him,  complaining,  with  an  expression  of 
keen  sorrow,  which  pierced  through  his  inmost  soul,  that  he 
should  sacrifice  her  deep,  true  love  to  fantastic  visions, 
which  only  the  distemper  of  his  mind  called  into  being, 
and  which,  moreover,  would  at  last  prove  his  ruin.  Vero- 
nica was  lovelier  than  he  had  ever  seen  her;  he  could  not 
drive  her  from  his  thoughts ;  and  in  this  perplexed  and  con- 
tradictory mood  he  hastened  out,  hoping  to  get  rid  of  it  by 
a  morning  walk. 

A  secret,  magic  influence  led  him  on  to  the  Pirna  gate  ; 
he  was  just  turning  into  a  cross  street,  when  Conrector  Paul- 
raann,  coming  after  him,  cried  out:  "Ey!  Ey  !  —  Dear 
Herr  Anselmus  !  —  Amice  !  Amice  !  Where,  in  Heaven's 
name,  have  you  been  buried  so  long  ?  We  never  see  you 
a.t  all.  Do  you  know,  Veronica  is  longing  very  much  to 
have  another  song  with  you  ?  So  come  along  ;  you  were 
just  on  the  road  to  me,  at  any  rate." 

The  Student  Anselmus,  constrained  by  this  friendly 
violence,  went  along  with  the  Conrector.  On  entering 
the  house,  they  were  met  by  Veronica,  attired  with  such 
neatness  and  attention,  that  Conrector  Paulmann,  full  of 
amazement,  asked  her:  "  Why  so  decked,  Mamsell? 
Were  you  expecting  visitors  }  Well,  here  I  bring  you  Herr 
Anselmus," 


94  HOFFMANN. 

The  Student  Anselmus,  in  daintily  and  elegantly  kiss- 
ing Veronica's  hand,  felt  a  soft  pressure  from  it,  which  shot 
like  a  stream  of  fire  over  all  his  frame.  Veronica  was 
cheerfulness,  was  grace  itself;  and  when  Paulmann  left 
them  for  his  study,  she  contrived,  by  all  manner  of  rogueries 
and  waggeries,  so  to  uplift  the  Student  Anselmus,  that  he  at 
last  quite  forgot  his  bashful ness,  and  jigged  round  the  room 
with  the  light-headed  maiden.  But  here  again  the  Demon 
of  Awkwardness  got  hold  of  him  ;  he  jolted  on  a  table, and 
Veronica's  pretty  little  work-box  fell  to  the  floor.  Anselmus 
lifted  it;  the  lid  had  started  up;  and  a  little  round  metallic 
mirror  was  glittering  on  him,  into  which  he  looked  with 
peculiar  delight.  Veronica  glided  softly  up  to  him,  laid 
her  hand  on  his  arm,  and  pressing  close  to  him,  looked  over 
his  shoulder  into  the  mirror  also.  And  now  Anselmus  felt 
as  if  a  battle  were  beginning  in  his  soul  ;  thoughts,  images 
flashed  out  —  Archivarius  Lindhorst, —  Serpentina, —  the 
green  Snake  —  at  last  the  tumult  abated,  and  all  this  chaos 
arranged  and  shaped  itself  into  distinct  consciousness.  It 
was  now  clear  to  him  that  he  had  always  thought  of  Veron- 
ica alone  ;  nay,  that  the  form  which  had  yesterday  appeared 
to  him  in  the  blue  chamber  had  been  no  other  than  Veron- 
ica;  and  that  the  wild  legend  of  the  Salamander's  marriage 
with  the  green  Snake  had  merely  been  written  down  by 
him  from  the  manuscript,  but  nowise  related  in  his  hearing. 
He*  wondered  not  a  little  at  all  these  dreams  ;  and  ascribed 
them  solely  to  the  heated  state  of  mind  into  which  Veron- 
ica's love  had  brought  him,  as  well  as  to  his  working  with 
Archivarius  Lindhorst,  in  whose  rooms  there  were,  besides, 
so  many  strangely  intoxicating  odors.  He  could  not  but 
laugh  heartily  at  the  mad  whim  of  falling  in  love  with  a  little 
green  Snake  ;  and  taking  a  well-fed  Privy  Archivarius  for  a 
Salamander.  "  Yes,  yes  !  It  is  Veronica  !  "  cried  he  aloud  ; 
but  on  turning  round  his  head,  he  looked   right  into  Veron- 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  95 

ica's  blue  eyes,  from  which  warmest  love  was  beaming.  A 
faint,  soft  Ah !  escaped  her  lips,  which  at  that  moment  were 
burning  on  his. 

"  O  happy  I !  "  sighed  the  enraptured  Student ;  "  what 
I  yesternight  but  dreamed  is  in  very  deed  mine  to-day." 

"  But  wilt  thou  really  wed  me,  then,  when  thou  art  Hof- 
rath  ?  "  said  Veronica. 

"  That  I  will,"  replied  the  Student  Anselmus  ;  and  just 
then  the  door  creaked,  and  Conrector  Paulmann  entered  with 
the  words  : 

"Now,  dear  Herr  Anselmus,  I  will  not  let  you  go  to-day. 
You  will  put  up  with  a  bad  dinner;  then  Veronica  will  make 
us  delightful  coffee,  which  we  shall  drink  with  Registrator 
Heerbrand,  for  he  promised  to  come  hither." 

"Ah,  best  Herr  Conrector  !  "  answered  the  Student  An- 
selmus, "are  you  not  aware  that  I  must  go  to  Archivarius 
Lindhorst's,  and  copy  ?" 

"  Look  you,  Amice  /"  said  Conrector  Paulmann,  holding 
up  his  watch,  which  pointed  to  half  past  twelve. 

The  Student  Anselmus  saw  clearly  that  he  was  much  too 
late  for  Archivarius  Lindhorst  ;  and  he  complied  with  the 
Conrector's  wishes  the  more  readily,  as  he  might  now  hope 
to  look  at  Veronica  the  whole  day  long,  to  obtain  many  a 
stolen  glance,  and  little  squeeze  of  the  hand,  nay,  even  to 
succeed  in  conquering  a  kiss.  So  high  had  the  Student  Ansel- 
mus's  desires  now  mounted  ;  he  felt  more  and  more  con- 
tented in  soul,  the  more  fully  he  convinced  himself  that  he 
should  soon  be  delivered  from  all  the  fantastic  imaginations, 
which  really  might  have  made  a  sheer  idiot  of  him. 

Registrator  Heerbrand  came,  as  he  had  promised,  after 
dinner;  and  coffee  being  over,  and  the  dusk  come  on,  the 
Registrator,  puckering  his  face  together,  and  gaily  rubbing 
his  hands,  signified  that  he  had  something  about  him,  which, 
if  mingled  and  reduced  to  form,  as  it  were,  paged  and  titled, 


96  HOFFMANN. 

by  Veronica's  fair  hands,  might  be  pleasant  to  them  all,  on 
this  October  evening. 

"  Come  out,  then,  with  this  mysterious  substance  which 
you  carry  with  you,  most  valued  Registrator,"  cried  Con- 
rector  Paulmann.  Then  Registrator  Heerbrand  shoved  his 
hand  into  his  deep  pocket,  and  at  three  journeys  brought 
out  a  bottle  of  arrack,  two  citrons,  and  a  quantity  of 
sugar.  Before  half  an  hour  had  passed,  a  savory  bowl  of 
punch  was  smoking  on  Paulmann's  table.  Veronica  drank 
their  health  in  a  sip  of  the  liquor  ;  and  ere  long  there  was 
plenty  of  gay,  good-natured  chat  among  the  friends.  But 
the  Student  Anselmus,  as  the  spirit  of  the  drink  mounted 
into  his  head,  felt  all  the  images  of  those  wondrous  things, 
which  for  some  time  he  had  experienced,  again  coming 
through  his  mind.  He  saw  the  Archivarius  in  his  damask 
night-gown,  which  glittered  like  phosphorus ;  he  saw  the 
azure  room,  the  golden  palm-trees ;  nay,  it  now  seemed  to 
him  as  if  he  must  still  believe  in  Serpentina;  there  was  a 
fermentation,  a  conflicting  tumult  in  his  soul.  Veronica 
handed  him  a  glass  of  punch  ;  and  in  taking  it,  he  gently 
touched  her  hand.  "  Serpentina  !  Veronica  !  "  sighed  he 
to  himself.  He  sank  into  deep  dreams  ;  but  Registrator 
Heerbrand  cried  quite  aloud  :  "  A  strange  old  gentleman, 
whom  nobody  can  fathom,  he  is  and  will  be,  this  Archiva- 
rius Lindhorst.  Well,  long  life  to  him  !  Your  glass,  Herr 
Anselmus  !  " 

Then  the  Student  Anselmus  awoke  from  his  dreams,  and 
said,  as  he  touched  glasses  with  Registrator  Heerbrand  : 
11  That  proceeds,  respected  Herr  Registrator,  from  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  Archivarius  Lindhorst  is  in  reality  a  Sala- 
mander, who  wasted  in  his  fury  the  Spirit-prince  Phospho- 
rus's garden,  because  the  green  Snake  had  flown  away 
from  him." 

"  How  ?  what?  "  inquired  Conrector  Paulmann. 


THE    GOLDEN    POT. 


97 


"  Yes,"  continued  the  Student  Anselmus  ;  "  and  for  this 
reason  he  is  now  forced  to  be  a  Royal  Archivarius;  and  to 
keep  house  here  in  Dresden  with  his  three  daughters,  who, 
after  all,  are  nothing  more  than  little,  gold-green  Snakes, 
that  bask  in  elder-bushes,  and  traitorously  sing,  and  seduce 
away  young  people,  like  as  many  syrens." 

"  Herr  Anselmus!  Herr  Anselmus!"  cried  Conrector 
Paulmann,  "  is  there  a  crack  in  your  brain  ?  In  Heaven's 
name,  what  monstrous  stuff  is  this  you  are  babbling  ?  " 

"  He  is  right,"  interrupted  Registrator  Heerbrand  ;  "that 
fellow,  that  Archivarius,  is  a  cursed  Salamander,  and  strikes 
you  fiery  snips  from  his  fingers,  which  burn  holes  in  your 
surtout  like  red-hot  tinder.  Ay,  ay,  thou  art  in  the  right, 
brotherkin  Anselmus ;  and  whoever  says  No  is  saying  No 
to  me  ! ■"  And  at  these  words  Registrator  Heerbrand  struck 
the  table  with  his  fist,  till  the.  glasses  rung  again. 

"  Registrator !  Are  you  frantic  ?  "  cried  the  wroth  Con- 
rector,  "  Herr  Studiosus,  Herr  Studiosus!  what  is  this  you 
are  about  again  ?  " 

Ah  !  "  said  the  Student,  "  you  too  are  nothing  but  a  bird, 
a  screech-owl,  that  frizzles  toupees,  Herr  Conrector!" 

"  What  ?  — I  a  bird  ?  —  A  screech-owl,  a  frizzier  ?  " 
cried  the  Conrector,  full  of  indignation  ;  u  Sir,  you  are  mad, 
horn  mad  I  " 

"  But  the  crone  will  get  a  clutch  of  him,11  cried  Registra- 
tor Heerbrand. 

"  Yes,  the  crone  is  potent,'1  interrupted  the  Student  An- 
selmus, "  though  she  is  but  of  mean  descent;  for  her  father 
was  nothing  but  a  ragged  wing-feather,  and  her  motner  a 
dirty  parsnip  ;  but  the  most  of  her  power  she  owes  to  all 
sorts  of  baneful  creatures,  poisonous  vermin  which  she  keeps 
about  her.11 

"  That  is  a  horrid   calumny,"  cried   Veronica,   with  eyes 

VOL.  II.  9 


98 


HOFFMANN. 


all  glowing  in  anger:  "old  Liese  is  a  wise  woman  ;  and  the 
black  Cat  is  no  baneful  creature,  but  a  polished  young  gen- 
tleman of  elegant  manners,  and  her  cousin  german." 

"  Can  he  eat  Salamanders  without  singing  his  whiskers, 
and  dying  like  a  candle-snuff?"  cried  Registrator  Heer- 
brand." 

"No!  no!"  shouted  the  Student  Anselmus,  "that  he 
never  can  in  this  world  ;  and  the  green  Snake  loves  me, 
and  I  have  looked  into  Serpentina's  eyes." 

"  The  Cat  will  scratch  them  out,"  cried  Veronica. 

"  Salamander,  Salamander  beats  them  all,  all,"  hallooed 
Conrector  Paulmann,  in  the  highest  fury.  "  But  am  I  in  a 
madhouse  ?  Am  I  mad  myself?  What  unwise  stuff  am  I 
chattering  ?  Yes,  I  am  mad  too  !  mad  too  !  "  And  with 
this,  Conrector  Paulmann  started  up  ;  tore  the  peruke  from 
his  head,  and  dashed  it  against  the  ceiling  of  the  room  ;  till 
the  battered  locks  whizzed,  and,  tangled  into  utter  disorder, 
rained  down  the  powder  far  and  wide.  Then  the  Student 
Anselmus  and  Registrator  Heerbrand  seized  the  punch-bowl 
and  the  glasses;  and,  hallooing  and  huzzaing,  pitched 
them  against  the  ceiling  also,  and  the  shreds  fell  jingling 
and  tingling  about  their  ears. 

M  Vivat  the  Salamander  !  — Pereat,  pereat  the  crone  !  — 
Break  the  metal  mirror  !  —  Dig  the  cat's  eyes  out  !  —  Bird, 
little  Bird,  from  the  air  —  Eheu  —  Eheu  —  Evoe  —  Evoe, 
Salamander!"  So  shrieked,  and  shouted,  and  bellowed 
the  three  like  utter  maniacs.  With  loud  weeping,  Franz- 
chen  ran  out ;  but  Veronica  lay  whimpering  for  pain  and 
sorrow  on  the  sofa. 

At  this  moment  the  door  opened  ;  all  was  instantly  still  ; 
and  a  little  man,  in  a  small  grey  cloak,  came  stepping  in. 
His  countenance  had  a  singular  air  of  gravity  ;  and  espe- 
cially the  round,  hooked  nose,  on  which  was  a  huge  pair  of 
spectacles,  distinguished  itself  from  all  the  noses  ever  seen. 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  99 

He  wore  a  strange  peruke  too ;  more  like  a  feather-cap  than 
a  wig. 

"  Ey,  many  good  evenings !  "  grated  and  cackled  the 
little  comical  mannikin.  "  Is  the  Student  Herr  Anselmus 
among  you,  gentlemen  ?  —  Best  compliments  from  Archiva- 
rius  Lindhorst;  he  has  waited  to-day  in  vain  for  Herr  An- 
selmus; but  to-morrow  he  begs  most  respectfully  to  request 
that  Herr  Anselmus  would  not  miss  the  hour." 

And  with  this  he  went  out  again  ;  and  all  of  them  now 
saw  clearly  that  the  grave  little  mannikin  was  in  fact  a  grey 
Parrot.  Conrector  Paulmann  and  Registrator  Heerbrand 
raised  a  horse-laugh,  which  reverberated  through  the  room  ; 
and  in  the  intervals,  Veronica  was  moaning  and  whimpering, 
as  if  torn  by  nameless  sorrow  ;  but,  as  to  the  Student  An- 
selmus, the  madness  of  inward  horror  was  darting  through 
him  ;  and  unconsciously  he  ran  through  the  door,  along  the 
streets.  Instinctively  he  reached  his  house,  his  garret.  Ere 
long  Veronica  came  in  to  him,  with  a  peaceful  and  friendly 
look,  and  asked  him  why,  in  the  festivity,  he  had  so  vexed 
her  ;  and  desired  him  to  be  upon  his  guard  against  imagina- 
tions, while  working  at  Archivarius  Lindhorst's.  "  Good 
night,  good  night,  my  beloved  friend  !"  whispered  Veronica 
scarce  audibly,  and  breathed  a  kiss  on  his  lips.  He  stretch- 
ed out  his  arms  to  clasp  her,  but  the  dreamy  shape  had  van- 
ished, and  he  awoke  cheerful  and  refreshed.  He  could  not 
but  laugh  heartily  at  the  effects  of  the  punch  ;  but  in  think- 
ing of  Veronica,  he  felt  pervaded  by  a  most  delightful  feel- 
ing. "  To  her  alone,"  said  he  within  himself,  "  do  I  owe 
this  return  from  my  insane  whims.  In  good  sooth,  I  was 
little  better  than  the  man  who  believed  himself  to  be  of 
glass;  or  he  who  durst  not  leave  his  room  for  fear  the  hens 
should  eat  him,  as  he  was  a  barleycorn.  But  so  soon  as  I 
am  Hofrath,  I  marry  Mademoiselle  Paulmann, and  be  happy, 
and  there  's  an  end  of  it  " 


100 


HOFFMANN. 


At  noon,  as  he  walked  through  Archivarius  Lindhorst's 
garden,  he  could  not  help  wondering  how  all  this  had  once 
appeared  so  strange  and  marvellous.  He  now  saw  nothing 
past  common  ;  earthen  flowerpots,  quantities  of  geraniums, 
myrtles,  and  the  like.  Instead  of  the  glittering,  party-col- 
ored birds  which  used  to  flout  him,  there  were  nothing  but  a 
few  sparrows,  fluttering  hither  and  thither,  which  raised  an 
unpleasant,  unintelligible  cry  at  sight  of  Anselmus.  The 
azure  room  also  had  quite  a  different  look  ;  and  he  could 
not  understand  how  that  glaring  blue,  and  those  unnatural 
golden  trunks  of  palm-trees,  with  their  shapeless,  glistening 
leaves,  should  ever  have  pleased  him  for  a  moment.  The 
Archivarius  looked  at  him  wilh  a  most  peculiar  ironical 
smile,  and  asked  :  "  Well,  how  did  you  like  the  punch  last 
night,  good  Anselmus?  " 

"  Ah,  doubtless  you    have  heard   from  the  grey   Parrot 

how "  answered  the  Student  Anselmus,  quite  ashamed  ; 

but  he  stopt  short,  bethinking  him  that  this  appearance  of 
the  Parrot  was  all  a  piece  of  jugglery. 

"  I  was  there  myself,"  said  Archivarius  Lindhorst ;  4'  did 
you  not  see  me  ?  But,  among  the  mad  pranks  you  were 
playing,  I  had  nigh  got  lamed  ;  for  I  was  sitting  in  the 
punch-bowl,  at  the  very  moment  when  Registrator  Heer- 
brand  laid  hands  on  it,  to  dash  it  against  the  ceiling;  and  I 
had  to  make  a  quick  retreat  into  the  Conrector's  pipe-head. 
Now,  adieu,  Herr  Anselmus!  Be  diligent  at  your  task; 
for  the  lost  day  also  you  shall  have  a  speziesthaler,  because 
you  worked  so  well  be  fore.  M 

"  How  can  the  Archivarius  babble  such  mad  stuff?  " 
thought  the  Student  Anselmus,  sitting  down  at  the  table  to 
begin  the  copying  of  the  manuscript,  which  Archivarius 
Lindhorst  had  as  usual  spread  out  before  him.  But  on  the 
parchment  roll  he  perceived  so  many  strange,  crabbed 
Strokes  and  twirls  all  twisted  together  in  inexplicable  con- 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  101 

fusion,  offering  no  resting-point  for  the  eye,  that  it  seemed 
to  him  well  nigh  impossible  to  copy  all  this  exactly.  Nay, 
in  glancing  over  the  whole,  you  might  have  thought  the 
parchment  was  nothing  but  a  piece  of  thickly  veined  marble, 
or  a  stone  sprinkled  over  with  lichens.  Nevertheless  he 
determined  to  do  his  utmost,  and  boldly  dipt  in  his  pen  ; 
but  the  ink  would  not  run,  do  what^,  he  liked  ;  impatiently 
he  spirted  the  point  of  his  pen  against  his  nail,  and  —  Heav- 
en and  Earth  !  —  a  huge  blot  fell  on  the  outspread  original ! 
Hissing  and  foaming,  rose  a  blue  flash  from  the  blot  ;  and, 
crackling  and  wavering,  shot  through  the  room  to  the  ceil- 
ing. Then  a  thick  vapor  rolled  from  the  walls  ;  the  leaves 
began  to  rustle,  as  if  shaken  by  a  tempest;  and  down  out  of 
them  darted  glaring  basilisks  in  sparkling  fire ;  these  kindled 
the  vapor,  and  the  bickering  masses  of  flame  rolled  round 
Anselmus.  The  golden  trunks  of  the  palm-trees  became 
gigantic  snakes,  which  knocked  their  frightful  heads  together 
with  piercing,  metallic  clang;  and  wound  their  scaly  bodies 
round  Anselmus. 

"Madman!  suffer  now  the  punishment  of  what,  in 
capricious  irreverence,  thou  hast  done  ! "  So  cried  the 
frightful  voice  of  the  crowned  Salamander,  who  appeared 
above  the  snakes  like  a  glittering  beam  in  the  midst  of  the 
flame  ;  and  now  the  yawning  jaws  of  the  snakes  poured 
forth  cataracts  of  fire  on  Anselmus  ;  and  it  was  as  if  the  fire- 
streams  were  congealing  about  his  body,  and  changing 
into  a  firm  ice-cold  mass.  But  while  Anselmus's  limbs, 
more  and  more  pressed  together,  and  contracted,  stiffened 
into  powerlessness,  his  sense  passed  away.  On  returning 
to  himself,  he  could  not  stir  a  joint ;  he  was  as  if  surrounded 
with  a  glistening  brightness,  on  which  he  struck  if  he  but 
tried  to  lift  his  hand.  —  Alas!  He  was  sitting  in  a  well- 
corked  crystal  bottle,  on  a  shelf,  in  the  library  of  Archiva- 
rius  Lindhorst. 

9* 


102  HOFFMANN. 


TENTH    VIGIL. 


Sorrows  of  the  Student  Anselmvs  in  the  Glass  Bottle. 
Happy  Life  of  the  Cross  Church  Scholars  and  Law 
Clerks.  The  Battle  in  the  Library  of  Archivarius 
Lindhorst.  Victory  of  the  Salamander,  and  Deliverance 
of  the  Student  Ansehnus. 

Justly  may  I  doubt  whether  thou,  favorable  reader,  wert 
ever  sealed  up  in  a  glass  bottle ;  or  even  that  any  vivid 
tormenting  dream  ever  oppressed  thee  with  such  necroman- 
tic trouble.  If  so  were  the  case,  thou  wilt  keenly  enough 
figure  out  the  poor  Student  Anselmus's  woe  ;  but  shouldst 
thou  never  have  even  dreamed  such  things,  then  will  thy 
quick  fancy,  for  Anselmus's  sake  and  mine,  be  obliging 
enough  still  to  enclose  itself  for  a  few  moments  in  the 
crystal.  Thou  art  drowned  in  dazzling  splendor  ;  all  objects 
about  thee  appear  illuminated  and  begirt  with  beaming  rain- 
bow hues ;  all  quivers  and  wavers,  and  clangs  and  drones, 
in  the  sheen;  thou  art  swimming,  motionless  and  powerless, 
as  in  a  firmly  congealed  ether,  which  so  presses  thee  together 
that  the  spirit  in  vain  gives  orders  to  the  dead  and  stiffened 
body.  Weightier  and  weightier  the  mountain  burden  lies  on 
thee  ;  more  and  more  does  every  breath  exhaust  the  little 
handful  of  air,  that  still  played  up  and  down  in  the  narrow 
space  ;  thy  pulse  throbs  madly  ;  and  cut  through  with 
horrid  anguish,  every  nerve  is  quivering  and  bleeding  in 
this  deadly  agony.  Have  pity,  favorable  reader,  on  the 
Student  Anselmus  !  Him  this  inexpressible  torture  laid  hold 
of  in  his  glass  prison  ;  but  he  felt  too  well  that  death  could 
not  relieve  him  ;  for  did  he  not  awake  from  the  deep  swoon 
into   which  the   excess  of  pain   had  cast  him,  and  open  his 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  103 

eyes  to  new  wretchedness,  when  the  morning  sun  shone 
clear  into  the  room  ?  He  could  move  no  limb  ;  hut.  his 
thoughts  struck  against  the  glassT  stupefying  him  with  dis- 
cordant clang  ;  and  instead  of  the  words  which  the  spirit 
used  to  speak  from  within  him,  he  now  heard  only  the 
stifled  din  of  madness.  Then  "he  exclaimed  in  his  despair: 
"  O  Serpentina!  Serpentina!  save  me  from  this  agony  of 
Hell  !  "  And  it  was  as  if  faint  sighs  breathed  around  him, 
which  spread  like  green,  transparent  elder-leaves  over  the 
glass  ;  the  clanging  ceased  ;  the  dazzling,  perplexing  glitter 
was  gone,  and  he  breathed  more  freely. 

"  Have  not  I  myself  solely  to  blame  for  my  misery  ? 
Ah  !  Have  not  I  sinned  against  thee,  thou  kind,  beloved 
Serpentina  ?  Have  not  I  raised  vile  doubts  of  thee  ?  Have 
not  I  lost  my  Belief;  and  with  it,  all,  all  that  was  to  make 
me  so  blessed  ?  Ah  !  Thou  wilt  now  never,  never  be 
mine  ;  for  me  the  Golden  Pot  is  lost,  and  I  shall  not  be- 
hold its  wonders  any  more.  Ah  !  But  once  could  I  see 
thee ;  but  once  hear  thy  kind,  sweet  voice,  thou  lovely 
Serpentina  ! " 

So  wailed  the  Student  Anselmus,  caught  with  deep  pier- 
cing sorrow  ;  then  spoke  a  voice  close  by  him  :  "  What  the 
devil  ails  you,  Herr  Studiosus  ?  What  makes  you  lament  so, 
out  of  all  compass  and  measure?  " 

The  Student  Anselmus  now  perceived  that  on  the  same 
shelf  with  him  were  five  other  bottles,  in  which  he  perceived 
three  Cross  Church  Scholars,  and  two  Law  Clerks. 

"  Ah,  gentlemen,  my  fellows  in  misery,"  cried  he,  "  how 
is  it  possible  for  you  to  be  so  calm,  nay  so  happy,  as  I  read 
in  your  cheerful  looks  ?  You  are  sitting  here  corked  up 
in  glass  bottles,  as  well  as  I,* and  cannot  move  a  finger  ; 
nay,  not  think  a  reasonable  thought,  but  there  rises  such  a 
murder-tumult  of  clanging  and  droning,  and  in  your  head 
itself  a   tumbling  and  rumbling  enough  to  drive   one  mad. 


104  HOFFMANN. 

But  doubtless  you  do   not  believe  in  the  Salamander,  or  the 
green  Snake." 

"  You  are  pleased  to  jest,  Mein  Herr  Studiosus,"  replied  a 
Cross  Church  Scholar  ;  "  we  have  never  been  belter  off 
than  at  present ;  for  the  speziesthalers,  which  the  mad 
Archivarius  gave  us  for  all  manner  of  pot-hook  copies,  are 
chinking  in  our  pockets  ;  we  have  now  no  Italian  choruses 
to  learn  by  heart ;  we  go  every  day  to  Joseph's  or  other 
houses  of  call,  where  the  double-beer  is  sufficient ; 
and  we  can  look  a  pretty  girl  in  the  face  ;  so  we  sing  like 
real  Students,  Gaudeamus  igitur,  and  are  contented  in 
spirit!  " 

"  They  of  the  Cross  are  quite  right,"  added  a  Law 
Clerk  ;  "  I  too  am  well  furnished  with  speziesthalers,  like 
my  dearest  colleague  beside  me  here  ;  and  we  now  diligently 
walk  about  on  the  Weinberg,  instead  of  scurvy  Act-writing 
within  four  walls." 

"But,  my  best,  worthiest  masters!"  said  the  Student 
Anselmus,  "  do  you  not  observe,  then,  that  you  are  all  and 
sundry  corked  up  in  glass  bottles,  and  cannot  for  your  hearts 
walk  a  hairsbreadth  ?  " 

Here  the  Cross  Church  Scholars  and  the  Law  Clerks  set 
up  a  loud  laugh,  and  cried  :  "  The  Student  is  mad  ;  he 
fancies  himself  to  be  sitting  in  a  glass  bottle,  and  is  standing 
on  the  Elbe-bridge  and  looking  right  down  into  the  water. 
Let  us  go  along  !  " 

"  Ah  ! "  sighed  the  Student,  u  they  have  never  seen  the 
kind  Serpentina  ;  they  know  not  what  Freedom,  and  life  in 
Love,  and  Belief,  signifies  ;  and  so,  by  reason  of  their  folly 
and  low-mindedness,  they  feel  not  the  oppression  of  the 
imprisonment  into  which  the  Salamander  has  cast  them. 
But  I,  unhappy  I,  must  perish  in  want  and  woe,  if  she,  whom 
I  so  inexpressibly  love,  do  not  deliver  me  !  " 

Then,  waving  in  faint   tinkles,   Serpentina's  voice  flitted 


1'HE    GOLDEN    POT.  105 

through  the  room;  "  Anselmus  !  believe,  love,  hope!" 
And  every  tone  beamed  into  Anselmus's  prison  ;  and  the 
crystal  yielded  to  his  pressure,  and  expanded,  till  the  breast 
of  the  captive  could  move  and  heave. 

The  torment  of  his  situation  became  less  and  less,  and  he 
saw  clearly  that  Serpentina  still  loved  him  ;  and  that  it  was 
she  alone  who  had  rendered  his  confinement  tolerable. 
He  disturbed  himself  no  more  about  his  inane  companions  in 
misfortune  ;  but  directed  all  his  thoughts  and  meditations 
on  the  gentle  Serpentina.  Suddenly,  however,  there  arose 
on  the  other  side  a  dull,  croaking,  repulsive  murmur.  Ere 
long  he  could  observe  that  it  proceeded  from  an  old  coffee- 
pot, with  half  broken  lid,  standing  over  against  him  on  a 
little  shelf.  As  he  looked  at  it  more  narrowly,  the  ugly 
features  of  a  wrinkled  old  woman  by  degrees  unfolded  them- 
selves ;  and  in  a  few  moments  the  Apple-wife  of  the 
Schvvarzthor  stood  before  him.  She  grinned  and  laughed  at 
him,  and  cried  with  screeching  voice  :  "  Ey,  Ey,  my  pretty 
boy,  must  thou  lie  in  limbo  now  ?  To  the  crystal  thou  hast 
run  ;  did  not  I  tell  thee  long  ago  ?  " 

"  Mock  and  jeer  me  ;  do,  thou  cursed  witch  !  "  said  the 
Student  Anselmus,  "  thou  art  to  blame  for  it  all;  but  the 
Salamander  will  catch  thee,  thou  vile  Parsnip  !  " 

"  Ho,  ho  !  "  replied  the  crone,  "  not  so  proud,  good  ready 
writer  !  Thou  hast  squelched  my  little  sons  to  pieces,  thou 
hast  burnt  my  nose  ;  but  I  must  still  like  thee,  thou  knave, 
for  once  thou  wert  a  pretty  fellow  ;  and  my  little  daughter 
likes  thee  too.  Out  of  the  crystal  thou  wilt  never  come  un- 
less I  help  thee;  up  thither  I  cannot  clamber;  but  my 
cousin  gossip  the  Rat,  that  lives  close  behind  thee,  will  eat 
the  shelf  in  two  ;  thou  shalt  jingle  down,  and  I  catch  thee 
in  my  apron,  that  thy  nose  be  not  broken,  or  thy  fine,  sleek 
face  at  all  injured  ;  then  I  carry  thee  to  Mamsell  Veronica  ; 
and  thou  shalt  marry  her,  when  thou  art  Hofrath." 


106  HOFFMANN. 

"  Avaunt,  thou  devil's  brood  !  "  cried  the  Student  Ansel- 
mus, full  of  fury;  "  it  was  thou  alone  and  thy  hellish  arts 
that  brought  me  to  the  sin  which  I  must  now  expiate.  But 
I  bear  it  all  patiently  ;  for  only  here  can  I  be,  where  the 
kind  Serpentina  encircles  me  with  love  and  consolation. 
Hear  it,  thou  beldam,  and  despair!  Ibid  defiance  to  thy 
power  ;  I  love  Serpentina  and  none  but  her  forever  ;  I  will 
not  be  Hofrath,  will  not  look  at  Veronica,  who  by  thy  means 
entices  me  to  evil.  Can  the  green  Snake  not  be  mine,  I 
will  die  in  sorrow  and  longing.  Take  thyself  away,  thou 
filthy  rook  !     Take  thyself  away  !  " 

The  crone  laughed,  till  the  chamber  rung:  "Sit  and  die 
then,"  cried  she  ;  "  but  now  it  is  time  to  set  to  work  ;  for  I 
have  other  trade  to  follow  here."  She  threw  off  her  black 
cloak,  and  so  stood  in  hideous  nakedness ;  then  she  ran 
round  in  circles,  and  large  folios  came  tumbling  down  to 
her;  out  of  these  she  tore  parchment  leaves,  and  rapidly 
patching  them  together  in  artful  combination,  and  fixing 
them  on  her  body,  in  a  few  instants  she  was  dressed  as  if 
in  strange,  party-colored  harness.  Spitting  fire,  the  black 
Cat  darted  out  of  the  ink-glass,  which  was  standing  on  the 
table,  and  ran  mewing  towards  the  crone,  who  shrieked  in 
loud  triumph,  and  along  with  him  vanished  through  the 
door. 

Anselmus  observed  that  she  went  towards  the  azure 
chamber ;  and  directly  he  heard  a  hissing  and  storming  in 
the  distance  ;  the  birds  in  the  garden  were  crying  ;  the  Par- 
rot creaked  out  :  "  Help  !  help  !  Thieves  !  thieves  !  "  That 
moment  the  crone  returned  with  a  bound  into  the  room, 
carrying  the  Golden  Pot  on  her  arm,  and,  with  hideous  ges- 
tures, shrieking  wildly  through  the  air:  "Joy!  joy,  little 
son  !  —  Kill  the  green  Snake  !  To  her,  son  !  To  her  !  " 

Anselmus  thought  he  heard  a  deep  moaning,  heard  Ser- 
pentina's    voice.      Then  horror  and   despair   took   hold   of 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  107 

him  ;  he  gathered  all  his  force,  he  dashed  violently,  as  if 
nerve  and  artery  were  bursting,  against  the  crystal ;  a  pierc- 
ing clang  went  through  the  room,  and  the  Archivarius  in  his 
bright  damask  nightgown  was  standing  in  the  door. 

"  Hey,  hey  !  vermin  !  —  Mad  spell !  —  Witchvvork  !  — 
Hither,  holla !  "  So  shouted  he  ;  then  the  black  hair  of 
the  crone  started  up  in  tufts  ;  her  red  eyes  glanced  with 
infernal  fire,  and  clenching  together  the  peaked  fangs  of 
her  abominable  jaws,  she  hissed  :  "  Hiss,  at  him  !  Hiss,  at 
him  !  Hiss  !  "  and  laughed  and  neighed  in  scorn  and  mock- 
ery, and  pressed  the  Golden  Pot  firmly  towards  her,  and 
threw  out  of  it  handfuls  of  glittering  earth  on  the  Archi- 
varius ;  but  as  it  touched  the  nightgown,  the  earth  changed 
into  flowers,  which  rained  down  on  the  ground.  Then  the 
lilies  of  the  nightgown  flickered  and  flamed  up  ;  and  the 
Archivarius  caught  these  lilies  blazing  in  sparky  fire  and 
dashed  them  on  the  witch  ;  she  howled  for  agony,  but  still 
as  she  leapt  aloft  and  shook  her  harness  of  parchment,  the 
lilies  went  out,  and  fell  away  into  ashes. 

"  To  her,  my  lad  !  "  creaked  the  crone  ;  then  the  black 
Cat  darted  through  the  air,  and  soused  over  the  Archivarius's 
head  towards  the  door ;  but  the  grey  Parrot  fluttered  out 
against  him  ;  caught  him  with  his  crooked  bill  by  the  nape, 
till  red,  fiery  blood  burst  down  over  bis  neck  ;  and  Serpen- 
tina's  voice  cried  :  "  Saved  !  Saved  !  "  Then  the  crone, 
foaming  with  rage  and  desperation,  darted  out  upon  the 
Archivarius;  she  threw  the  Golden  Pot  behind  her,  and 
holding  up  the  long  talons  of  her  skinny  fists,  was  for  clutch- 
ing the  Archivarius  by  the  throat  ;  but  he  instantly  doffed 
his  nightgown,  and  hurled  it  against  her.  Then,  hissing, 
and  sputtering,  and  bursting,  shot  blue  flames  from  the 
parchment  leaves,  and  the  crone  rolled  round  in  howling 
agony,  and  strove  to  get  fresh  earth  from  the  Pot,  fresh 
parchment  leaves  from  the   books,  that  she   might   stifle  the 


108  HOFFMANN. 

blazing  flames  ;  and  whenever  any  earth  or  leaves  came 
down  on  her,  the  flames  went  out.  But  now,  from  the  inte- 
rior of  the  Archivarius  issued  fiery,  crackling  beams,  and 
darted  on  the  crone. 

"Hey,  hey!  To  it  again!  Salamander!  Victory!" 
clanged  the  Archivarius's  voice  through  the  chamber  ;  and 
a  hundred  bolls  whirled  forth  in  fiery  circles  round  the 
shrieking  crone.  Whizzing  and  buzzing  flew  Cat  and  Par- 
rot in  their  furious  battle  ;  but  at  last  the  Parrot,  with  his 
strong  wing,  dashed  the  Cat  to  the  ground  ;  and  with  his 
talons  transfixing  and  holding  fast  his  adversary,  which,  in 
deadly  agony,  uttered  horrid  mews  and  howls,  he,  with  his 
sharp  bill  pecked  out  his  glowing  eyes,  and  the  burning 
froth  spouted  from  them.  Then  thick  vapor  streamed  up 
from  the  spot  where  the  crone,  hurled  to  the  ground,  was 
lying  under  the  nightgown  ;  her  howling,  her  terrific,  pierc- 
ing cry  of  lamentation,  died  away  in  the  remote  distance. 
The  smoke,  which  had  spread  abroad  with  irresistible  smell, 
cleared  off;  the  Archivarius  picked  up  his  nightgown  ;  and 
under  lay  an  ugly  Parsnip. 

"  Honored  Herr  Archivarius,  here  let  me  offer  you  the 
vanquished  foe,"  said  the  Parrot,  holding  out  a  black  hair  in 
his  beak  to  Archivarius  Lindhorst. 

"  Very  right,  my  worthy  friend,"  replied  the  Archivari- 
us ;  "  here  lies  my  vanquished  foe  too  ;  be  so  good  now  as 
to  manage  what  remains.  This  very  day,  as  a  small  douceur, 
you  shall  have  six  cocoa-nuts,  and  a  new  pair  of  spectacles 
also,  for  I  see  the  Cat  has  villanously  broken  the  glasses  of 
these  old  ones." 

"  Yours  forever,  most  honored  friend  and  patron  !  "  an- 
swered the  Parrot,  much  delighted  ;  then  took  the  Parsnip 
in  his  bill,  and  fluttered  out  with  it  by  the  window,  which 
Archivarius  Lindhorst  had  opened  for  him. 

The  Archivarius   now  lifted    the   Golden   Pot,  and  cried, 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  109 

with  a  strong  voice,  "  Serpentina  !  Serpentina  ! "  But  as 
the  Student  Anselmus,  joying  in  the  destruction  of  the  vile 
beldam  who  had  hurried  him  into  misfortune,  cast  his  eyes 
on  the  Archivarius,  behold !  here  stood  once  more  the  high, 
majestic  form  of  the  Spirit-prince,  looking  up  to  him  with 
indescribable  dignity  and  grace.  "  Anselmus,"  said  the 
Spirit-prince,  "  not  thou,  but  a  hostile  Principle,  which 
strove  destructively  to  penetrate  into  thy  nature,  and  divide 
thee  against  thyself,  was  to  blame  for  thy  unbelief.  Thou 
hast  kept  thy  faithfulness  ;  be  free  and  happy."  A  bright  flash 
quivered  through  the  spirit  of  Anselmus  ;  the  royal  triphony 
of  the  crystal  bells  sounded  stronger  and  louder  than  he  had 
ever  heard  it  ;  his  nerves  and  fibres  thrilled  ;  but,  swelling 
higher  and  higher,  the  melodious  tones  rang  through  the 
room  ;  the  glass  which  enclosed  Anselmus  broke  ;  and  he 
rushed  into  the  arms  of  his  dear  and  gentle  Serpentina. 


ELEVENTH  VIGIL. 

Conrector  Paulmann's  anger  at  the  Madness  which  had 
broken  out  in  his  Family.  How  Registrator  Heerbrand 
became  Hofrath  ;  and,  in  the  keenest  Frost,  walked  about 
in  Shoes  and  silk  Stockings.  Veronica's  Confession. 
Betrothment  over  the  steaming  Soup-plate. 

"  But  tell  me,  best  Registrator!  how  the  cursed  punch 
last  night  could  so  mount  into  our  heads,  and  drive  us  to  all 
manner  of  allotria  ?  "  So  said  Conrector  Paulmann,  as  he 
next  morning  entered  his  room,  which  still  lay  full  of  brok- 
en sherds,  with  his  hapless  peruke,  dissolved  into  its  original 
elements,  floating  in  punch  among  the  ruin.  For  after  the 
Student  Anselmus  ran  out  of  doors,  Conrector  Paulmann 
and  Registrator  Heerbrand   had  still  kept  trotting   and  hob- 

VOL.  II.  10 


UO  HOFFMANN. 

bling  up  and  down  the  room,  shouting  like  maniacs,  and 
butting  their  heads  together:  till  Franzchen,  with  much 
labor,  carried  her  vertiginous  papa  to  bed  ;  and  Registrator 
Heerhrand,  in  the  deepest  exhaustion,  sunk  on  the  sofa, 
which  Veronica  had  left,  taking  refuge  in  her  bedroom. 
Registrator  Heerbrand  had  his  blue  handkerchief  tied  about 
his  head  ;  he  looked  quite  pale  and  melancholic,  and  moan- 
ed out :  "  Ah,  worthy  Conrector,  not  the  punch  which 
Mamsell  Veronica  most  admirably  brewed,  no  !  but  simply 
that  cursed  Student  is  to  blame  for  all  the  mischief.  Do 
you  not  observe  that  he  has  long  been  mente  captus  ?  And 
are  you  not  aware  that  madness  is  infectious?  One  fool 
makes  twenty  ;  pardon  me,  it  is  an  old  proverb  ;  especially 
when  you  have  drunk  a  glass  or  two,  you  fall  into  madness 
quite  readily,  and  then  involuntarily  you  manoeuvre,  and  go 
through  your  exercise,  just  as  the  crackbrained  fugleman 
makes  the  motion.  Would  you  believe  it,  Conrector  ?  I  am 
still  giddy  when  I  think  of  that  grey  Parrot !  " 

44  Grey  fiddlestick!"  interrupted  the  Conrector;  "  it  was 
nothing  but  Archivarius  Lindhorst's  little  old  Famulus,  who 
had  thrown  a  grey  cloak  over  him,  and  was  seeking  the 
Student  Anselmus." 

44  It  may  be,"  answered  Registrator  Heerbrand  ;  "  but  T 
must  confess  I  am  quite  downcast  in  spirit ;  the  whole  night 
through  there  was  such  a  piping  and  organing." 

44  That  was  I,*1  said  the  Conrector,  44  for  I  snore  loud." 

44  Well,  may  be,"  answered  the  Registrator;  44  but,  Con- 
rector, Conrector!  Ah,  not  without  cause  did  I  wish  to 
raise  some  cheerfulness  among  us  last  night — And  that 
Anselmus  has  spoiled  all !  You  know  not  —  O  Conrector, 
Conrector  !  "  And  with  this,  Registrator  Heerbrand  started 
up  ;  plucked  the  cloth  from  his  head,  embraced  the  Conrec- 
tor, warmly  pressed  his  hand,  and  again  cried,  in  quite 
heart-breaking  tone:  44  O  Conrector,  Conrector!"  and 
snatching  his  hat  and  staff',  rushed  out  of  doors. 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  Ill 

"  This  Anselmus  comes  not  over  my  threshold  again," 
said  Conrector  Paulmann  ;  "  for  I  see  very  well,  that,  with 
this  moping  madness  of  his,  he  robs  the  best  gentlemen  of 
their  senses.  The  Registrator  is  now  over  with  it  too ;  I 
have  hitherto  kept  safe  ;  but  the  Devil,  who  knocked  hard 
last  night  in  our  carousal,  may  get  in  at  last,  and  play  his 
tricks  with  me.  So  Apage,  Satanas  !  Off  with  thee,  An- 
selmus !  "  Veronica  had  grown  quite  pensive  ;  she  spoke  no 
word  ;  only  smiled  now  and  then  very  oddly,  and  liked  best 
to  be  alone.  "  She  too  has  Anselmus  in  her  head,"  said  the 
Conrector,  full  of  spleen  ;  "  but  it  is  well  that  he  does  not 
show  himself  here;  I  know  he  fears  me,  this  Anselmus, 
and  so  he  never  comes." 

These  concluding  words  Conrector  Paulmann  spoke  aloud ; 
then  the  tears  rushed  into  Veronica's  eyes,  and  she  said, 
sobbing:  "Ah!  how  can  Anselmus  come?  He  has  long 
been  corked  up  in  the  glass  bottle." 

"  How  ?  What  ?  "  cried  Conrector  Paulmann.  "  Ah  Heav- 
en !  Ah  Heaven  !  she  is  doting  too,  like  the  Registrator  ;  the 
loud  fit  will  soon  come  !  Ah,  thou  cursed,  abominable,  thrice- 
cursed  Anselmus!  "  He  ran  forth  directly  to  Doctor  Eck- 
stein ;  who  smiled,  and  again  said:  "  Ey !  Ey  !  "  This 
time,  however,  he  prescribed  nothing  ;  but  added,  to  the 
little  he  had  uttered,  the  following  words,  as  he  walked 
away:  "Nerves!  Come  round  of  itself.  Take  the  air; 
walks  ;  amusements  ;  theatre  ;  playing  Soutagskind,  Schives- 
tern  von  Prag.     Come  round  of  itself." 

"  So  eloquent  I  have  seldom  seen  the  Doctor,"  thought 
Conrector  Paulmann  :  "  realty  talkative,  I  declare  !  " 

Several  days  and  weeks  and  months  were  gone  ;  Ansel- 
mus had  vanished  ;  but  Registrator  Heerbrand  also  did  not 
make  his  appearance  ;  not  till  the  fourth  of  February,  when 
the  Registrator,  in  a  new,  fashionable  coat  of  the  finest  cloth, 
in  shoes  and  silk  stockings,  notwithstanding  the  keen  frost, 


112  HOFFMANN. 

and  with  a  large  nosegay  of  fresh  flowers  in  his  hand,  did 
enter  precisely  at  noon  into  the  parlor  of  Conrector  Paul- 
mann,  who  wondered  not  a  little  to  see  his  friend  sodizened. 
With  a  solemn  air,  Registrator  Heerbrand  stept  forward  to 
Conrector  Paulmann  ;  embraced  him  with  the  finest  elegance, 
and  then  said  :  w  Now  at  last,  on  the  Saint's-day  of  your 
beloved  and  most  honored  Mamsell  Veronica,  I  will  tell  you 
out,  straight  forward,  what  I  have  long  had  lying  at  my 
heart.  That  evening,  that  unfortunate  evening,  when  I  put 
the  ingredients  of  our  noxious  punch  in  my  pocket,  I  pur- 
posed imparting  to  you  a  piece  of  good  news,  and  celebrat- 
ing the  happy  day  in  convivial  joys.  Already  I  had  learned 
that  I  was  to  be  made  Hofrath  ;  for  which  promotion  I  have 
now  the  patent,  cum  nomine  et  sigillo  Principis,  in  my 
pocket." 

"Ah!  Herr  Registr —  Herr  Hofrath  Heerbrand,  I 
meant  to  say,"  stammered  the  Conrector. 

"  But  it  is  you,  most  honored  Conrector,"  continued  the 
new  Hofrath,  "it  is  you  alone  that  can  complete  my 
happiness.  For  a  long  time,  I  have  in  secret  loved  your 
daughter,  Mamsell  Veronica  ;  and  I  can  boast  of  many  a 
kind  look  which  she  has  given  me,  evidently  showing  that 
she  would  not  cast  me  away.  In  one  word,  honored  Con- 
rector!  I,  Hofrath  Heerbrand,  do  now  entreat  of  you  the 
hand  of  your  most  amiable  Mamsell  Veronica,  whom  I,  if 
you  have  nothing  against  it,  purpose  shortly  to  take  home 
as  my  wife." 

Conrector  Paulmann,  full  of  astonishment,  clapped  his 
hands  repeatedly,  and  cried  :  '  Ey,  Ey,  Ey  !  Herr  Registr  — 
Herr  Hofrath  I  meant  to  say  —  who  would  have  thought  it? 
Well,  if  Veronica  does  really  love  you,  I  for  my  share  can- 
not object;  nay,  perhaps  her  present  melancholy  is  nothing 
but  concealed  love  for  you,  most  honored  Hofrath  !  You 
know  what  freaks  they  have  ! 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  113 

At  this  moment  Veronica  entered,  pale  and  agitated,  as 
she  now  commonly  was.  Then  Ho f rath  Heerbrand  stept 
towards  her ;  mentioned  in  a  neat  speech  her  Saint's  day, 
and  handed  her  the  odorous  nosegay,  along  with  a  little 
packet;  out  of  which,  when  she  opened  it,  a  pair  of  glitter- 
ing earrings  beamed  up  to  her.  A  rapid,  flying  blush  tinted 
her  cheeks ;  her  eyes  sparkled  in  joy,  and  she  cried  :  "  O 
Heaven!  These  are  the  very  earrings  which  I  wore  some 
weeks  ago,  and  thought  so  much  of." 

"  How  can  this  be,  dearest  Mamsell,"  interrupted  Hofrath 
Heerbrand,  somewhat  alarmed  and  hurt,  "when  I  bought 
these  jewels  not  an  hour  ago,  in  the  Schlossgasse,  for  cur- 
rent money  ?  " 

But  Veronica  heeded  him  not ;  she  was  standing  before 
the  mirror  to  witness  the  effect  of  the  trinkets,  which  she 
had  already  suspended  in  her  pretty  little  ears.  Conrector 
Paulmann  disclosed  to  her,  with  grave  countenance  and 
solemn  tone,  his  friend  Heerbrand's  preferment  and  present 
proposal.  Veronica  looked  at  the  Hofrath  with  a  searching 
look,  and  said:  "I  have  long  known  that  you  wished  to 
marry  me.  Well,  be  it  so !  I  promise  you  my  heart  and 
hand ;  but  I  must  now  unfold  to  you,  to  both  of  you,  I 
mean,  my  father  and  my  bridegroom,  much  that  is  lying 
heavy  on  my  heart ;  yes,  even  now,  though  the  soup 
should  get  cold,  which  I  see  Franzchen  is  just  putting  on 
the  table." 

Without  waiting  for  the  Conrector's  or  the  Hofrath's  reply, 
though  the  words  were  visibly  hovering  on  the  lips  of  both, 
Veronica  continued:  "  You  mny  believe  me,  best  father, 
I  loved  Anselmus  from  my  heart ;  and  when  Registrator 
Heerbrand,  who  is  now  become  Hofrath  himself,  assured 
us  that  Anselmus  might  probably  enough  get  some  such 
length,  I  resolved  that  he  and  no  other  should  be  my  hus- 
band. But  then  it  seemed  as  if  alien,  hostile  beings  were 
10* 


114 


HOFFMANN. 


for   snatching  him   away  from  me.    I  had   recourse  to  old 
Liese,  who  was  once    my  nurse,  but  is  now  a  wise  woman, 
and  a  great  enchantress.     She    promised  to  help  me,  and 
give  Anselmus  wholly  into  my  hands.    We  went  at  midnight 
on  the  Equinox  to  the  crossing  of  the   roads  ;  she  conjured 
certain   hellish   spirits,   and    by   aid   of  the   black   Cat,   we 
manufactured  a  little    metallic   mirror,  in  which  I,  directing 
my  thoughts  on  Anselmus,  had    but  to  look,  in  order  to  rule 
him  wholly  in  heart  and   mind.     But  now  I  heartily  repent 
having  done  all  this;  and  here  abjure  all  Satanic  arts.     The 
Salamander  has  conquered  old  Liese  ;  I  heard  her  shrieks; 
but  there   was   no  help   to  be  given  ;  so  soon  as  the  Parrot 
had  eaten  the  Parsnip,  my  metallic  mirror  broke  in  two  with 
a  piercing  clang."     Veronica  took  out  both   the  pieces  of 
the  mirror  and  a  lock  of  hair  from  her  work-box,  and  hand- 
ing them   to   Hofrath   Heerbrand   she  proceeded  :    "  Here, 
take  the  fragments  of  the  mirror,  dear  Hofrath ;  throw  them 
down,   to-night,  at  twelve    o'clock,   over    the    Elbe-bridge, 
from  the  place   where   the   Cross  stands;  the  stream  is  not 
frozen  there  ;    the   lock,   however,   do   you   wear   on    your 
faithful  breast.     I  here  abjure  all  magic  ;  and  heartily  wish 
Anselmus  joy  of  his  good  fortune,  seeing  he  is  wedded  with 
the  green   Snake,  who  is  much   prettier   and   richer  than  I. 
You,  dear   Hofrath,  I  will  love  and  reverence  as  becomes  a 
true,  honest  wife." 

"Alake!  Alake!"  cried  Conrector  Paulmann,  full  of  sor- 
row ;  "  she  is  cracked,  she  is  cracked ;  she  can  never  be 
Frau  Hofrathinn  ;   she  is  cracked  !  " 

"  Not  in  the  smallest,"  interrupted  Hofrath  Heerbrand  ; 
"I  know  well  that  Mamsell  Veronica  has  had  some  kindness 
for  the  loutish  Anselmus  ;  and  it  may  be  that  in  some  fit 
of  passion  she  has  had  recourse  to  the  wise  woman,  who, 
as  I  perceive,  can  be  no  other  than  the  card-castor  and 
coffee-pourer  of  the  Seethor ;  in  a  word,  old  Rauerin.     Nor 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  115 

can  it  be  denied  that  there  are  secret  arts,  which  exert  their 
influence  on  men  but  too  balefully  ;  we  read  of  such  in  the 
Ancients,  and  doubtless  there  are  still  such  ;  but  as  to  what 
Mamsell  Veronica  is  pleased  to  say  about  the  victory  of  the 
Salamander,  and  the  marriage  of  Anselmus  with  the  green 
Snake,  this,  in  reality,  I  take  for  nothing  but  a  poetic  alle- 
gory ;  a  sort  of  song,  wherein  she  sings  her  entire  farewell 
to  the  Student." 

"Take  it  for  what  you  will,  best  Hofrath ! "  cried  Veron- 
ica ;  "  perhaps  for  a  very  stupid  dream." 

"  That  I  nowise  do,"  replied  Hofrath  Heerbrand  ;  "  for 
I  know  well  that  Anselmus  himself  is  possessed  by  secret 
powers,  which  vex  him  and  drive  him  on  to  all  imaginable 
mad  freaks." 

Conrector  Paulmann  could  stand  it  no  longer;  he  broke 
loose:  "Hold!  For  the  love  of  Heaven,  hold!  Are  we 
again  overtaken  with  the  cursed  punch,  or  has  Anselmus's 
madness  come  over  us  too  ?  Herr  Hofrath,  what  stuff  is 
this  you  are  talking?  I  will  suppose,  however,  that  it  is 
love  which  haunts  your  brain;  this  soon  comes  to  rights  in 
marriage  ;  otherwise  I  should  be  apprehensive  that  you  too 
had  fallen  into  some  shade  of  madness,  most  honored  Herr 
Hofrath  ;  then  what  would  become  of  the  future  branches 
of  the  family,  inheriting  the  malum  of  their  parents  ?  But 
now  I  give  my  paternal  blessing  to  this  happy  union  ;  and 
permit  you  as  bride  and  bridegroom  to  take  a  kiss." 

This  happened  forthwith  ;  and  thus  before  the  presented 
soup  had  grown  cold,  was  a  formal  betrothment  concluded. 
In  a  few  weeks,  Frau  Hofrathinn  Heerbrand  was  actually, 
as  she  had  been  in  vision,  sitting  in  the  balcony  of  a  fine 
house  in  the  Neumarkt,  and  looking  down  with  a  smile 
on  the  beaux,  who  passing  by  turned  their  glasses  up  to 
her  and  said  :  "  She  is  a  heavenly  woman,  the  Hofrathinn 
Heerbrand." 


116  HOFFMANN. 


TWELFTH    VIGIL. 

Account  of  the  Freehold  Property  to  which  Anselmus  re- 
moved, as  Son-in-law  of  Archivarius  Lindhorst ;  and 
how  he  lives  there  with  Serpentina.     Conclusion. 

How  deeply  did  I  feel  in  the  centre  of  my  spirit  the 
blessedness  of  the  Student  Anselmus,  who  now,  indissolubly 
united  with  his  gentle  Serpentina,  has  withdrawn  to  the 
mysterious  Land  of  Wonders,  recognized  by  him  as  the 
home  towards  which  his  bosom,  filled  with  strange  forecast- 
ings,  had  always  longed.  But  in  vain  was  all  my  striving 
to  set  before  thee,  favorable  reader,  those  glories  with  which 
Anselmus  is  encompassed,  or  even  in  the  faintest  degree  to 
shadow  them  forth  to  thee  in  words.  Reluctantly  I  could 
not  but  acknowledge  the  feebleness  of  my  every  expression. 
I  felt  myself  enthralled  amid  the  paltrinesses  of  every-day 
life  ;  I  sickened  in  tormenting  dissatisfaction  ;  I  glided  about 
like  a  dreamer;  in  brief,  I  fell  into  that  condition  of  the 
Student  Anselmus,  which,  in  the  Fourth  Vigil,  I  have  en- 
deavored to  set  before  thee.  It  grieved  me  to  the  heart, 
when  I  glanced  over  the  Eleven  Vigils,  now  happily  accom- 
plished, and  thought  that  to  insert  the  Twelfth,  the  keystone 
of  the  whole,  would  never  be  vouchsafed  me.  For  when- 
soever, in  the  night  season,  I  set  myself  to  complete  the 
work,  it  was  as  if  mischievous  Spirits  (they  might  be  rela- 
tions, perhaps  cousins-german,  of  the  slain  witch)  held  a 
polished,  glittering  piece  of  metal  before  me,  in  which  I 
beheld  my  own  mean  Self,  pale,  overwatched,  and  melan- 
cholic, like  Registrator  Heerbrand  after  his  bout  of  punch. 
Then  I  threw  down  my  pen,  and  hastened  to  bed,  that  I 
might  behold  the   happy  Anselmus  and  the  fair  Serpentina 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  117 

at  least  in  ray  dreams.  This  had  lasted  for  several  days 
and  nights,  when  at  length  quite  unexpectedly  I  received  a 
note  from  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  in  which  he  addressed  me 
as  follows  : 

"  Respected  Sir,  —  It  is  well  known  to  me  that  you  have 
written  down,  in  Eleven  Vigils,  the  singular  fortunes  of  my 
good  son-in-law  Anselmus,  whilom  Student,  now  Poet  ;  and 
are  at  present  cudgelling  your  brains  very  sore,  that  in  the 
Twelfth  and  Last  Vigil  you  may  tell  somewhat  of  his  happy 
life  in  Atlantis,  where  he  now  lives  with  my  daughter,  on 
the  pleasant  Freehold  which  I  possess  in  that  country. 
Now,  notwithstanding  I  much  regret  that  hereby  my  own 
peculiar  nature  is  unfolded  to  the  reading  world  ;  seeing  it 
may,  in  my  office  as  Privy  Archivarius,  expose  me  to  a 
thousand  inconveniences  ;  nay,  in  the  Collegium  even  give 
rise  to  the  question,  how  far  a  Salamander  can  justly,  and 
with  binding  consequences,  plight  himself  by  oath,  as  a 
Servant  of  the  State  ;  and  how  far,  on  the  whole,  important 
affairs  may  be  intrusted  to  him,  since,  according  to  GabaUs 
and  Svvedenborg,  the  Spirits  of  the  Elements  are  not  to  be 
trusted  at  all  ;  notwithstanding  my  best  friends  must  now 
avoid  my  embrace  ;  fearing  lest,  in  some  sudden  anger,  I 
dart  out  a  flash  or  two,  and  singe  their  hair-curls,  and  Sun- 
day frocks;  notwithstanding  all  this,  I  say,  it  is  still  my 
purpose  to  assist  you  in  the  completion  of  the  Work,  since 
much  good  of  me  and  of  my  dear  married  daughter  (would 
the  other  two  were  off  my  hands  also!)  has  therein  been 
said.  Would  you  write  your  Twelfth  Vigil,  therefore,  then 
descend  your  cursed  five  pair  of  stairs,  leave  your  garret, 
and  come  over  to  me.  In  the  blue  palmtree-room,  which 
you  already  know,  you  will  find  fit  writing  materials  ;  and 
you  can  then,  in  few  words,  specify  to  your  readers  what 
you  have  seen  ;  a  better  plan  for  you  than  any  long-winded 


118  HOFFMANN. 

description   of    a   life   which  you   know  only  by   hearsay. 
With  esteem, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"  The  Salamander  Lindhorst, 
"P.  T.  Royal  Archivarius." 

This  truly  somewhat  rough,  yet  on  the  whole  friendly 
note  from  Archivarius  Lindhorst  gave  me  high  pleasure. 
Clear  enough  it  seemed,  indeed,  that  the  singular  manner  in 
which  the  fortunes  of  his  son-in-law  had  been  revealed  to 
me,  and  which  I,  bound  to  silence,  must  conceal  even  from 
thee,  favorable  reader,  was  well  known  to  this  peculiar  old 
gentleman  ;  yet  he  had  not  taken  it  so  ill  as  I  might  readily 
have  apprehended.  Nay,  here  was  he  offering  me  his 
helpful  hand  in  the  completion  of  my  work;  and  from  this  I 
might  justly  conclude  that  at  bottom  he  was  not  averse  to 
have  his  marvellous  existence  in  the  world  of  spirits  thus 
divulged  through  the  press. 

"  It  may  be,"  thought  I,  "  that  he  himself  expects  from 
this  measure,  perhaps,  to  get  his  two  other  daughters  the 
sooner  married  ;  for  who  knows  but  a  spark  may  fall  in  this 
or  that  young  man's  breast,  and  kindle  a  longing  for  the 
green  Snake  ;  whom,  on  Ascension-day,  under  the  elder- 
bush,  he  will  forthwith  seek  and  find?  From  the  woe 
which  befell  Anselmus,  when  inclosed  in  the  glass  bottle, 
he  will  take  warning  to  be  doubly  and  trebly  on  his  guard 
against  all  Doubt  and  Unbelief." 

Precisely  at  eleven  o'clock  I  extinguished  my  study- 
lamp  ;  and  glided  forth  to  Archivarius  Lindhorst,  who  was 
already  waiting  for  me  in  the  lobby. 

"  Are  you  ihere,  my  worthy  friend  ?  Well,  this  is  what 
I  like,  that  you  have  not  mistaken  my  good  intentions  ;  do 
but  follow  me  !  " 

And  with  this  he  led  the  way  through  the  garden,  now 
filled    with    dazzling   brightness,   into  the  azure  chamber 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  119 

where  I  observed  the  same  violet  table   at  which  Anselmus 
had  been  writing. 

Archivarius  Lmdhorst  disappeared  ;  but  soon  came  back, 
carrying  in  his  hand  a  fair,  golden  goblet,  out  of  which  a 
high  blue  flame  was  sparkling  up.  "Here,"  said  he,uI 
bring  you  the  favorite  drink  of  your  friend  the  Bandmaster, 
Johannes  Kreisler.*  It  is  burning  arrack,  into  which  I 
have  thrown  a  little  sugar.  Sip  a  touch  or  two  of  it ; 
I  will  doff  my  night-gown,  and,  to  amuse  myself,  and 
enjoy  your  worthy  company  while  you  sit  looking  and 
writing,  I  shall  just  bob  up  and  down  a  little  in  the 
goblet." 

"As  you  please,  honored  Herr  Archivarius,"  answered 
I;  "  but  if  I  am  to  ply  the  liquor,  you  will  get  none." 

"Don't  fear  that,  my  good  fellow,"  cried  the  Archi- 
varius ;  then  hastily  threw  off  his  night-gown,  mounted, 
to  my  no  small  amazement,  into  the  goblet,  and  vanished  in 
the  blaze.  Without  fear,  softly  blowing  back  the  flame,  I 
partook  of  the  drink  ;  it  was  truly  precious  ! 


Stir  not  the  emerald  leaves  of  the  palm-trees  in  soft  sigh- 
ing and  rustling,  as  if  kissed  by  the  breath  of  the  morning 

*  An  imaginary  musical  enthusiast,  of  whom  Hoffmann  has 
written  much  ;  under  the  fiery,  sensitive,  wayward  character  of  this 
crazy  Bandmaster,  presenting,  it  would  seem,  a  shadowy  likeness 
of  himself.  The  Krelsleriana  occupy  a  large  space  among  these 
Fantasy-pieces;  and  Johannes  Kreisler  is  the  main  figure  in  Kaler 
Murr,  Hoffmann's  favorite  but  unfinished  work.  In  the  third  and 
last  volume,  Kreisler  was  to  end,  not  in  composure  and  illumina- 
tion, as  the  critics  would  have  required,  but  in  utter  madness.  A 
sketch  of  a  wild,  flail-like  scarecrow,  dancing  vehemently  and  blow 
ing  soap-bubbles,  and  which  had  been  intended  to  front  the  last  title- 
page,  was  found  among  Hoffmann's  papers,  and  engraved  and  pub- 
lished in  his  Life  and  Remains.  —  Ed. 


120  HOFFMANN. 

wind  ?  Awakened  from  their  sleep,  they  move,  and  myste- 
riously whisper  of  the  wonders  which  from  the  far  distance 
approach  like  tones  of  melodious  harps !  the  azure  rolls 
from  the  walls,  and  floats  like  airy  vapor  to  and  fro  ;  but 
dazzling  beams  shoot  through  it ;  and  whirling  and  dancing, 
as  in  jubilee  of  childlike  sport,  it  mounts  and  mounts  to  im- 
measurable height,  and  vaults  itself  overthe  palm-trees.  But 
brighter  and  brighter  shoots  beam  on  beam,  till  in  boundless 
expanse  opens  the  grove  where  I  behold  Anselmus.  Here 
glowing  hyacinths,  and  tulips,  and  roses,  lift  their  fair  heads  ; 
and  their  perfumes,  in  loveliest  sound,  call  to  the  happy  youth  : 
"  Wander,  wander  among  us,  our  beloved  ;  for  thou  under- 
standest  us !  Our  perfume  is  the  Longing  of  Love  ;  we 
love  thee,  and  are  thine  for  evermore!  "  The  golden  rays 
burn  in  glowing  tones  :  "  We  are  Fire,  kindled  by  Love. 
Perfume  is  Longing  ;  but  Fire  is  Desire;  and  dwell  we  not 
in  thy  bosom  ?  We  are  thy  own  !  "  The  dark  bushes,  the 
high  trees,  rustle  and  sound  :  "  Come  to  us,  thou  loved,  thou 
happy  one  !  Fire  is  Desire  ;  but  Hope  is  our  cool  Shadow. 
Lovingly  we  rustle  round  thy  head  ;  for  thou  understandest 
us,  because  Love  dwells  in  thy  breast !"  The  brooks  and 
fountains  murmur  and  patter  :  "  Loved  one,  walk  not  so 
quickly  by ;  look  into  our  crystal!  Thy  image  dwells  in 
us,  which  we  preserve  with  Love,  for  thou  hast  understood 
us."  In  the  triumphal  choir,  bright  birds  are  singing : 
"  Hear  us  !  Hear  us  !  We  are  Joy,  we  are  Delight,  the 
rapture  of  Love  !  "  But  anxiously  Anselmus  turns  his  eyes 
to  the  glorious  Temple,  which  rises  behind  him  in  the  dis- 
tance. The  fair  pillars  seem  trees;  and  the  capitals  and 
friezes  acanthus  leaves,  which  in  wondrous  wreaths  and 
figures  form  splendid  decorations.  Anselmus  walks  to  the 
Temple;  he  views  with  inward  delight  the  variegated  mar- 
ble, the  steps  with  their  strange  veins  of  moss.  "  Ah,  no!  " 
cries  he,  as  if  in  the  excess  of  rapture,  "  she  is  not  far  from 


THE    GOLDEN    POT.  121 

me  now  ;  she  is  near  !  "  Then  advances  Serpentina,  in  the 
fulness  of  beauty  and  grace,  from  the  Temple  ;  she  bears 
the  Golden  Pot,  from  which  a  bright  Lily  has  sprung.  The 
nameless  rapture  of  infinite  longing  glows  in  her  meek 
eyes  ;  she  looks  at  Anselmus,  and  says :  "  Ah  !  Dearest, 
the  Lily  has  sent  forth  her  bowl  ;  what  we  longed  for  is  ful- 
filled. Is  there  a  happiness  to  equal  ours  ?  "  Anselmus 
clasps  her  with  the  tenderness  of  warmest  ardor  ;  the  Lily 
burns  in  flaming  beams  over  his  head.  And  louder  move 
the  trees  and  bushes  ;  clearer  and  gladder  play  the  brooks  ; 
the  birds,  the  shining  insects  dance  in  the  waves  of  perfume ; 
a  gay,  bright,  rejoicing  tumult,  in  the  air,  in  the  water,  in 
the  earth,  is  holding  the  festival  of  Love  !  Now  rush  spark- 
ling streaks,  gleaming  over  all  the  bushes  ;  diamonds  look 
from  the  ground  like  shining  eyes  ;  strange  vapors  are 
wafted  hither  on  sounding  wings  ;  they  are  the  Spirits  of 
the  Elements,  who  do  homage  to  the  Lily,  and  proclaim  the 
happiness  of  Anselmus.  Then  Anselmus  raises  his  head, 
as  if  encircled  with  a  beamy  glory.  Is  it  looks  ?  Is  it 
words  ?  Is  it  song  ?  You  hear  the  sound  :  "  Serpentina  ! 
Belief  in  thee,  Love  of  thee  has  unfolded  to  my  soul  the 
inmost  spirit  of  Nature  !  Thou  hast  brought  me  the  Lily,  which 
sprung  from  Gold,  from  the  primeval  Force  of  the  world, 
before  Phosphorus  had  kindled  the  spark  of  Thought ;  this 
Lily  is  Knowledge  of  the  sacred  Harmony  of  all  Beings  ; 
and  in  this  do  I  live  in  highest  blessedness  for  evermore. 
Yes,  I,  thrice  happy,  have  perceived  what  was  highest ; 
I  must  indeed  love  thee  forever,  O  Serpentina !  Never  shall 
the  golden  blossoms  of  the  Lily  grow  pale  ;  for,  like  Belief 
and  Love,  this  Knowledge  is  eternal." 


VOL.  II.  11 


122  HOFFMANN. 

For  the  vision,  in  which  I  had  now  beheld  Anselmus 
bodily,  in  his  Freehold  of  Atlantis,  I  stand  indebted  to  the 
arts  of  the  Salamander ;  and  most  fortunate  was  it,  that, 
when  all  had  melted  into  air,  I  found  a  paper  lying  on  the 
violet-table,  with  the  foregoing  statement  of  the  matter, 
written  fairly  and  distinctly  by  my  own  hand.  But  now  I 
felt  myself  as  if  transpierced  and  torn  in  pieces  by  sharp 
sorrow.  "  Ah,  happy  Anselmus,  who  hast  cast  away  the 
burden  of  week-day  life,  who  in  the  love  of  thy  kind  Ser- 
pentina fliest  with  bold  pinion,  and  now  livest  in  rapture  and 
joy  on  thy  Freehold  in  Atlantis  !  while  I  —  poor  I !  — must 
soon,  nay,  in  few  moments,  leave  even  this  fair  hall,  which 
itself  is  far  from  a  Freehold  in  Atlantis  ;  and  again  be 
transplanted  to  my  garret,  where,  enthralled  among  the  petti- 
nesses of  necessitous  existence,  my  heart  and  my  sight  are 
so  bedimmed  with  thousand  mischiefs,  as  with  thick  fog, 
that  the  fair  Lily  will  never,  never  be  beheld  by  me." 

Then  Archivarius  Lindhorst  patted  me  gently  on  the 
shoulder,  and  said  :  "  Soft,  soft,  my  honored  friend  !  La- 
ment not  so !  Were  you  not  even  now  in  Atlantis  ;  and 
have  you  not  at  least  a  pretty  little  copyhold  Farm  there,  as 
the  poetical  possession  of  your  inward  sense  ?  And  is  the 
blessedness  of  Anselmus  aught  else  but  a  Living  in  Poesy  ? 
Can  aught  else  but  Poesy  reveal  itself  as  the  sacred  Har- 
mony of  all  Beings,  as  the  deepest  secret  of  Nature  ?  " 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


JEAN  PAUL  FRIEDRICH  RICHTER. 


Jean  Paul  Friedrich  Richter,  one  of  the  chosen  men 
of  Germany  and  of  the  World,  whom  I  hoped,  in  my  vanity, 
perhaps  to  gratify  by  this  introduction  of  him  to  a  people 
whom  he  knew  and  valued,  has  been  called  from  his  earthly 
sojourn  since  the  commencement  of  my  little  task,  and  no 
voice,  either  of  love  or  censure,  shall  any  more  reach  his 
ear. 

The  circle  of  his  existence  is  thus  complete  ;  his  works 
and  himself  have  assumed  their  final  shape  and  combination, 
and  lie  ready  for  a  judgment,  which,  when  it  is  just,  must 
now  be  unalterable.  To  satisfy  a  natural  and  rational 
curiosity  respecting  such  a  character,  materials  are  not 
wanting ;  but  to  us  in  the  mean  time  they  are  inaccessible. 
I  have  inquired  in  his  own  country,  but  without  effect ;  hav- 
ing learned  only  that  two  Biographies  of  Richter  are  in 
the  press,  but  that  nothing  on  the  subject  has  hitherto  been 
published.  For  the  present,  therefore,  I  must  content  my- 
self with  such  meagre  and  transitory  hints  as  were  in  circu- 
lation in  his  lifetime,  and  compress  into  a  few  sentences  a 
history  which  might  be  written  in  volumes. 

Richter  was  born  at  Wunsiedel  in  Bayreuth,  on  the  21st 
of  March,  1763.  His  father  was  clergyman  of  the  place, 
and  afterwards  of  Schwarzbach  on  the  Saale.  The  young 
man  also  was  destined  for  the  clerical  profession  ;  with  a 
view  to  which,  having  finished  his  school  studies  in  the  Hof 
Gymnasium,  he  in  1780  proceeded  to  the  University  of 
11  * 


126 


RICHTER. 


Leipzig,  with  the  highest  testimonials  from  his  former  mas- 
ters.     Theology  as  a    profession,   however,  he   could    not 
relish  ;  poetry,  philosophy,  and  general    literature,  were  his 
chief    pursuits   while  at   Leipzig  ;   from  which,   apparently 
after  no  long  stay,  he  returned  to  Schwarzbach   to  his  pa- 
rents, uncertain  what  he  should  betake   him   to.     In   a  little 
while    he  attempted    authorship  ;    publishing   various  short 
miscellaneous    pieces,    distinguished    by    intellectual   vigor, 
copious  fancy,  the  wildest  yet  truest   humor,  the  whole  con- 
cocted in  a  style  entirely  his  own,  which,  if  it  betrayed  the 
writer's  inexperience,  could  not  hide  the  existence  in  him  of 
a  highly-gifted,  strong,   and   extraordinary   mind.     The  re- 
ception of  his  first   performances,  or  the   inward   felicity  of 
writing,  encouraged  him  to  proceed  ;  in  the  midst  of  an  un- 
settled   and    changeful     life,  his    pen   was    never   idle,    its 
productions  never  otherwise  than  new,  fantastic,  and  power- 
ful.   He  lived  successively  in  Hof,  in  Weimar,  Berlin,  Mein- 
ingen,  Coburg,  "  raying   forth,  wherever  he  might  be   sta- 
tioned, the  wild  light  of  his  genius  over  all  Germany.1'     At 
last  he  settled  in  Bayreuth,  having  here,   in  testimony  of  his 
literary  merit,  been  honored  with  the  title  of  Legations-Rath, 
and  presented  with  a   pension   from   his   native  Prince.     In 
Bayreuth  his  chief  works   were  written  ;  he   had    married, 
and  been  blessed  with  two  children  ;  his   intellectual   labors 
had  gained  him  esteem  and  love  from  all  ranks  of  his  coun- 
trymen, and  chiefly  from  those  whose  suffrage   was  of  most 
value  ;  a   frank   and   original,  yet   modest,  good,  and   kind 
deportment,  seems  to  have   transferred   these  sentiments  to 
his  private  circle.    With  a  heart  at  once  of  the  most  earnest 
and  most  sportful  cast ;  affectionate,  and   encompassed  with 
the  objects  of  his  affection;  diligent   in  the  highest   of  all 
earthly   tasks,  the  acquisition  and   the   diffusion   of  Truth  ; 
and  witnessing  from  his  sequestered   home   the   working  of 
his  own  mind  on  thousands  of  fellow-minds,  Richter  seemed 


RICHTER. 


127 


happy  and  at  peace  ;  and  his  distant  reader  loved  to  fancy 
him  as  in  his  calm  privacy  enjoying  the  fruit  of  past  toils, 
or  amid  the  highest  and  mildest  meditations,  looking  forward 
to  long,  honorable  years  of  future  toil.  For  his  thoughts  were 
manifold ;  thoughts  of  a  moralist  and  a  sage,  no  less  than  of 
a  poet  and  a  wit.  The  last  work  of  his  I  saw  advertised  was 
a  little  volume,  entitled,  On  the  Ever-green  of  our  Feel- 
ings ;  and  in  November,  1825,  news  came  that  Richter  was 
dead  ;  and  a  heart,  which  we  had  figured  as  one  of  the 
truest,  deepest,  and  gentlest  that  ever  lived  in  this  world, 
was  to  beat  no  more. 

Of  Richter's  private  character  I  have  learned  little ;  but 
that  little  was  all  favorable,  and  accordant  with  the  indica- 
tions in  his  works.  Of  his  public  and  intellectual  character 
much  might  be  said  and  thought ;  for  the  secret  of  it  is  by 
no  means  floating  on  the  surface,  and  it  will  reward  some 
study.  The  most  cursory  inspection,  even  an  external  one, 
will  satisfy  us  that  he  neither  was,  nor  wished  to  be  consid- 
ered as  a  man  who  wrote  or  thought  in  the  track  of  other 
men,  to  whom  common  practice  is  a  law,  and  whose  excel- 
lencies and  defects  the  common  formulas  of  criticism  will 
easily  represent.  The  very  titles  of  his  works  are  startling. 
One  of  his  earliest  performances  is  named  Selection  from 
the  Papers  of  the  Devil;  another  is,  Biographical  Recre- 
ations under  the  Cranium  of  a  Giantess.  His  novels  are 
almost  uniformly  introduced  by  some  fantastic  narrative  ac- 
counting for  his  publication  and  obtainment  of  the  story. 
Hesperus,  his  chief  novel,  bears  the  secondary  title  of  Dog- 
post-days,  and  the  chapters  are  named  Dog-posts,  as  having 
been  conveyed  to  him  in  a  letter-bag,  round  the  neck  of  a 
little  nimble  Shock,  from  some  unknown  Island  in  the  South 
Sea. 

The  first  aspect  of  these  peculiarities  cannot  prepossess 
us  in  his  favor;   we  are  too  forcibly  reminded  of  theatrical 


128  R1CHTER. 

clap-traps  and  literary  quackery ;  nor  on  opening  one  of 
the  works  themselves  is  the  case  much  mended.  Piercing 
gleams  of  thought  do  not  escape  us  ;  singular  truths  conveyed 
in  a  form  as  singular  ;  grotesque  and  often  truly  ludicrous 
delineations;  pathetic,  magnificent,  far-sounding  passages; 
effusions  full  of  wit,  knowledge,  and  imagination,  but  difficult 
to  bring  under  any  rubric  whatever  ;  all  the  elements,  in 
short,  of  a  glorious  intellect,  but  dashed  together  in  such 
wild  arrangement  that  their  order  seems  the  very  ideal  of 
confusion.  The  style  and  structure  of  the  book  appear 
alike  incomprehensible.  The  narrative  is  every  now  and 
then  suspended  to  make  way  for  some  "  Extra-leaf,"  some 
wild  digression  upon  any  subject  but  the  one  in  hand  ;  the 
language  groans  with  indescribable  metaphors  and  allusions 
to  all  things  human  and  divine;  flowing  onward,  not  like  a 
river,  but  like  an  inundation ;  circling  in  complex  eddies, 
chafing  and  gurgling,  now  this  way,  now  that,  till  the  proper 
current  sinks  out  of  view  amid  the  boundless  uproar.  We 
close  the  work  with  a  mingled  feeling  of  astonishment, 
oppression,  and  perplexity  ;  and  Richter  stands  before  us 
in  brilliant,  cloudy  vagueness,  a  giant  mass  of  intellect,  but 
without  form,  beauty,  or  intelligible  purpose. 

To  readers  who  believe  that  intrinsic  is  inseparable  from 
superficial  excellence,  and  that  nothing  can  be  good  or 
beautiful  which  is  not  to  be  seen  through  in  a  moment, 
Richter  can  occasion  little  difficulty.  They  admit  him  to 
be  a  man  of  vast  natural  endowments,  but  he  is  utterly 
uncultivated,  and  without  command  of  them  ;  full  of  mon- 
strous affectation,  the  very  High  Priest  of  bad  taste;  knows 
not  the  art  of  writing,  scarcely  that  there  is  such  an  art;  an 
insane  visionary  floating  forever  among  baseless  dreams, 
which  hide  the  firm  Earth  from  his  view ;  an  intellectual 
Polyphemus ;  in  short,  a  monstrum  horrendum,  informe,  in- 
gens,  (carefully  adding)  cuilumen  ademptum  ;  and  they  close 


RICHTER.  129 

their  verdict  reflectively,  with  his  own  praiseworthy  maxim : 
"  Providence  has  given  to  the  English  the  empire  of  the 
sea,  to  the  French  that  of  the  land,  to  the  Germans  that  of 
—  the  air." 

In  this  way  the  matter  is  adjusted  ;  briefly,  comfortably, 
and  wrong.  The  casket  was  difficult  to  open ;  did  we  know 
by  its  very  shape  that  there  was  nothing  in  it,  that  so  we 
should  cast  it  into  the  sea  ?  Affectation  is  often  singularity, 
but  singularity  is  not  always  affectation.  If  the  nature  and 
condition  of  a  man  be  really  and  truly,  not  conceitedly 
and  untruly,  singular,  so  also  will  his  manner  be,  so  also 
ought  it  to  be.  Affectation  is  the  product  of  Falsehood,  a 
heavy  sin,  and  the  parent  of  numerous  heavy  sins ;  let  it  be 
severely  punished,  but  not  too  lightly  imputed.  Scarcely 
any  mortal  is  absolutely  free  from  it,  neither,  most  probably, 
is  Richter;  but  it  is  in  minds  of  another  substance  than  his 
that  it  grows  to  be  the  ruling  product.  Moreover,  he  is 
actually  not  a  visionary ;  but,  with  all  his  visions,  will  be 
found  to  see  the  firm  Earth  in  its  whole  figures  and  relations 
much  more  clearly  than  thousands  of  such  critics,  who  too 
probably  can  see  nothing  else.  Far  from  being  untrained 
or  uncultivated,  it  will  surprise  these  persons  to  discover 
that  few  men  have  studied  the  art  of  writing,  and  many  other 
arts  besides,  more  carefully  than  he;  that  his  Vorschule 
der  Msthetik  (Introduction  to  ^Esthetics)  abounds  with  deep 
and  sound  maxims  of  criticism ;  in  the  course  of  which, 
many  complex  works,  his  own  among  others,  are  rigidly 
and  justly  tried,  and  even  the  graces  and  minutest  qualities 
of  style  are  by  no  means  overlooked  or  unwisely  handled. 

Withal,  there  is  something  in  Richter  that  incites  us  to  a 
second,  to  a  third  perusal.  His  works  are  hard  to  under- 
stand, but  they  always  have  a  meaning,  and  often  a  true 
and  deep  one.  In  our  closer,  more  comprehensive  glance, 
their    truth   steps  forth    with    new    distinctness,   their  error 


130 


RICHTER. 


dissipates  and  recedes,  passes  into  venality,  often  even 
into  beauty  ;  and  at  last  the  thick  haze  which  encircled  the 
form  of  the  writer  melts  away,  and  he  stands  revealed  to  us 
in  his  own  steadfast  features,  a  colossal  spirit,  a  lofty  and 
original  thinker,  a  genuine  poet,  a  high-minded,  true,  and 
most  amiable  man. 

I  have  called  him  a  colossal  spirit,  for  this  impression 
continues  with  us  ;  to  the  last  we  figure  him  as  something 
gigantic ;  for  all  the  elements  of  his  structure  are  vast,  and 
combined  together  in  living  and  life-giving,  rather  than  in 
beautiful  or  symmetrical  order.  His  Intellect  is  keen, 
impetuous,  far-grasping,  fit  to  rend  in  pieces  the  stubbornest 
materials,  and  extort  from  them  their  most  hidden  and 
refractory  truth.  In  his  Humor  he  sports  with  the  highest 
and  the  lowest,  he  can  play  at  bowls  with  the  sun  and 
moon.  His  Imagination  opens  for  us  the  Land  of  Dreams ; 
we  sail  with  him  through  the  boundless  abyss,  and  the  se- 
crets of  Space,  and  Time,  and  Life,  and  Annihilation,  hover 
round  us  in  dim,  cloudy  forms,  and  darkness,  and  immensity, 
and  dread,  encompass  and  overshadow  us.  Nay,  in  hand- 
ling the  smallest  matter,  he  works  it  with  the  tools  of  a 
giant.  A  common  truth  is  wrenched  from  its  old  combi- 
nations, and  presented  us  in  new,  impassable,  abysmal  con- 
trast with  its  opposite  error.  A  trifle,  some  slender  charac- 
ter, some  weakling  humorist,  some  jest,  or  quip,  or  spirit- 
ual toy,  is  shaped  into  most  quaint,  yet  often  truly  living 
form  ;  but  shaped  somehow  as  with  the  hammer  of 
Vulcan,  with  three  strokes  that  might  have  helped  to  forge 
an  jEgis.  The  treasures  of  his  mind  are  of  a  similar  de- 
scription with  the  mind  itself;  his  knowledge  is  gathered 
from  all  the  kingdoms  of  Art,  and  Science,  and  Nature,  and 
lies  round  him  in  huge,  unwieldy  heaps.  His  very  language 
is  Titanian ;  deep,  strong,  tumultuous,  shining  with  a  thou- 
sand hues,  fused  from  a  thousand  elements,  and  winding  in 
labyrinthic  mazes. 


RICHTER.  131 

Among  Richter's  gifts,  perhaps  the  first  that  strikes  us  as 
truly  great  is  his  Imagination ;  for  he  loves  to  dwell  in  the 
loftiest  and  most  solemn  provinces  of  thought ;  his  works 
abound  with  mysterious  allegories,  visions,  and  typical 
adumbrations  ;  his  Dreams,  in  particular,  have  a  gloomy 
vastness,  broken  here  and  there  by  wild,  far-darting  splen- 
dor, and  shadowy  forms  of  meaning  rise  dimly  from  the 
bosom  of  the  void  Infinite.  Yet,  if  I  mistake  not,  Humor 
is  his  ruling  quality,  the  quality  which  lives  most  deeply  in 
his  inward  nature,  and  most  strongly  influences  his  manner 
of  being.  In  this  rare  gift,  for  none  is  rarer  than  true  hu- 
mor, he  stands  unrivalled  in  his  own  country  ;  and,  among 
late  writers,  in  every  other.  To  describe  humor  is  difficult 
at  all  times,  and  would  perhaps  be  still  more  difficult  in 
Richter's  case.  Like  all  his  other  qualities,  it  is  vast,  rude, 
irregular ;  often  perhaps  overstrained  and  extravagant ;  yet 
fundamentally  it  is  genuine  humor,  the  humor  of  Cervantes 
and  Sterne,  the  product  not  of  Contempt,  but  of  Love,  not  of 
superficial  distortion  of  natural  forms,  but  of  deep  though 
playful  sympathy  with  all  forms  of  Nature.  It  springs  not 
less  from  the  heart  than  from  the  head ;  its  result  is  not 
laughter,  but  something  far  kindlier  and  better;  as  it  were, 
the  balm  which  a  generous  spirit  pours  over  the  wounds  of 
life,  and  which  none  but  a  generous  spirit  can  give  forth. 
Such  humor  is  compatible  with  tenderest  and  sublimest  feel- 
ings, or  rather,  it  is  incompatible  with  the  want  of  them. 
In  Richter,  accordingly,  we  find  a  true  sensibility  ;  a  soft- 
ness, sometimes  a  simple,  humble  pathos,  which  works  its 
way  into  every  heart.  Some  slight  incident  is  carelessly 
thrown  before  us  ;  we  smile  at  it  perhaps,  but  with  a  smile 
more  sad  than  tears;  and  the  unpretending  passage  in  its 
meagre  brevity  sinks  deeper  into  the  soul  than  sentimental 
volumes. 

It  is  on  the  strength  of  this  and  its  accompanying  endow- 


132  RICHTER. 

ments,  that  his  main  success  as  an  artist  depends.  His 
favorite  characters  have  always  a  dash  of  the  ridiculous  in 
their  circumstances  or  their  composition,  perhaps  in  both  ; 
they  are  often  men  of  no  account;  vain,  poor,  ignorant, 
feeble  ;  and  we  scarcely  know  how  it  is  that  we  love  them  ; 
for  the  author  all  along  has  been  laughing  no  less  heartily 
than  we  at  their  ineptitudes  ;  yet  so  it  is,  his  Fibel,  his  Fix- 
lein,  his  Siebenkas,  even  his  Schmelzle,  insinuate  them- 
selves into  our  affections  ;  and  their  ultimate  place  is  closer 
to  our  hearts  than  that  of  many  more  splendid  heroes.  This 
is  the  test  of  true  humor  ;  no  wit,  no  sarcasm,  no  knowledge 
will  suffice  ;  not  talent,  but  genius,  will  accomplish  the  result. 
It  is  in  studying  these  characters  that  we  first  convince  our- 
selves of  Richter's  claim  to  the  title  of  a  poet,  of  a  true 
creator.  For,  with  all  his  wild  vagueness,  this  highest 
intellectual  honor  cannot  be  refused  him.  The  figures  and 
scenes  which  he  lays  before  us,  distorted,  entangled,  inde- 
scribable as  they  seem,  have  a  true  poetic  existence  ;  for  we 
not  only  hear  of  them,  but  we  see  thern,  afar  off,  by  the 
wondrous  light,  which  none  but  the  Poet,  in  the  strictest 
meaning  of  that  word,  can  shed  over  them. 

So  long  as  humor  will  avail  him,  his  management  even  of 
higher  and  stronger  characters  may  still  be  pronounced 
successful  ;  but  whenever  humor  ceases  to  be  applicable,  his 
success  is  more  or  less  imperfect.  In  the  treatment  of 
heroes  proper  he  is  seldom  completely  happy.  They  shoot 
into  rugged  exaggeration  in  his  hands,  their  sensibility  be- 
comes too  copious  and  tearful,  their  magnanimity  too  fierce, 
abrupt,  and  thorough-going.  In  some  few  instances  they 
verge  towards  absolute  failure  ;  compared  with  their  less 
ambitious  brethren,  they  are  almost  of  a  vulgar  cast ;  with 
all  their  brilliancy  and  vigor,  too  like  that  positive,  deter- 
minate, choleric,  volcanic  class  of  personages  whom  we 
meet  with  so  frequently  in  novels ;    they  call   themselves 


RICHTER.  133 

Men,  and  do  their  utmost  to  prove  the  assertion,  but  they 
cannot  make  us  believe  it ;  for  after  all  their  vaporing  and 
storming  we  see  well  enough  that  they  are  but  Engines, 
with  no  more  life  than  the  Freethinkers'  model  in  Martinus 
Scriblerus,  the  Nuremberg  Man,  who  operated  by  a  com- 
bination of  pipes  and  levers,  and  though  he  could  breathe 
and  digest  perfectly,  and  even  reason  as  well  as  most  coun- 
try parsons,  was  made  of  wood  and  leather.  In  the  general 
conduct  of  such  histories  and  delineations,  Richter  seldom 
appears  to  advantage  ;  the  incidents  are  often  startling  and 
extravagant ;  the  whole  structure  of  the  story  has  a  rugged, 
broken,  huge,  artificial  aspect,  and  will  not  assume  the  air 
of  truth.  Yet  its  chasms  are  strangely  filled  up  with  the 
costliest  materials ;  a  world,  a  universe,  of  wit  and  knowl- 
edge and  fancy  and  imagination  has  sent  its  fairest  pro- 
ducts to  adorn  the  edifice  ;  the  rude  and  rent  cyclopean 
walls  are  resplendent  with  jewels  and  beaten  gold  ;  rich, 
stately  foliage  screens  it,  the  balmiest  odors  encircle  it;  we 
stand  astonished  if  not  captivated,  delighted  if  not  charmed, 
by  the  artist  and  his  art. 

By  a  critic  of  his  own  country  Richter  has  been  named 
a  Western  Oriental,  an  epithet  which  Goethe  himself  is  at 
the  pains  to  reproduce  and  illustrate  in  his  West-bstlichter 
Divan.  The  mildness,  the  warm,  all-comprehending  love 
attributed  to  Oriental  poets  may  in  fact  be  discovered  in 
Richter;  not  less  their  fantastic  exaggeration,  their  brilliant 
extravagance  ;  above  all,  their  overflowing  abundance,  their 
lyrical  diffuseness,  as  if  writing  for  readers  who  were  alto- 
gether passive,  to  whom  no  sentiment  could  be  intelligible, 
unless  it  were  expounded  and  dissected  and  presented  under 
all  its  thousand  aspects.  In  this  last  point  Richter  is  too 
much  an  Oriental  ;  his  passionate  outpourings  would  often 
be  more  effective  were  they  far  briefer.  Withal,  however, 
he  is  a  Western    Oriental  ;  he  lives   in  the  midst  of  cultiva- 

VOL.  II  12 


134  R1CHTER. 

ted  Europe  in  the  nineteenth  century  ;  he  has  looked  with 
a  patient  and  piercing  eye  on  its  motley  aspect  ;  and  it  is 
this  Europe,  it  is  the  changes  of  its  many-colored  life,  that 
are  held  up  to  us  in  his  works.  His  subject  is  Life  ;  his 
chosen  study  has  been  Man.  Few  have  known  the  world 
belter,  or  taken  at  once  a  clearer  and  a  kindlier  view  of  its 
concerns.  For  Richter's  mind  is  at  peace  with  itself;  a 
mild,  humane,  beneficent  spirit  breathes  through  his  works. 
His  very  contempt,  of  which  he  is  by  no  means  incapable 
or  sparing,  is  placid  and  tolerant;  his  affection  is  warm, 
tender,  comprehensive,  not  dwelling  among  the  high  places 
of  the  world,  not  blind  tp  its  objects  when  found  among  the 
poor  and  lowly.  Nature  in  all  her  scenes  and  manifesta- 
tions he  loves  with  a  deep,  almost  passionate  love  ;  from  the 
solemn  phases  of  the  starry  heaven  to  the  simple  floweret  of 
the  meadow,  his  eye  and  his  heart  are  open  for  her  charms 
and  her  mystic  meanings.  From  early  years,  he  tells  us, 
he  may  be  said  to  have  almost  lived  under  the  open  sky  ; 
here  he  could  recreate  himself,  here  he  studied,  here  he 
often  wrote.  It  is  not  with  the  feeling  of  a  mere  painter 
and  view-hunter  that  he  looks  on  Nature  ;  but  he  dwells 
amid  her  beauties  and  solemnities  as  in  the  mansion  of  a 
Mother  ;  he  finds  peace  in  her  majestic  peace  ;  he  worships, 
in  this  boundless  Temple,  the  great  original  of  Peace,  to 
whom  the  Earth  and  the  fulness  thereof  belongs.  For 
Richter  does  not  hide  from  us  that  he  looks  to  the  Maker  of 
the  Universe  as  to  his  Father  ;  that  in  his  belief  of  man's 
Immortality  lies  the  sanctuary  of  his  spirit,  the  solace  of  all 
suffering,  the  solution  of  all  that  is  mysterious  in  human  des- 
tiny. The  wild  freedom  with  which  he  treats  the  dogmas 
of  religion  must  not  mislead  us  to  suppose  that  he  himself  is 
irreligious  or  unbelieving.  It  is  Religion,  it  is  Belief,  in 
whatever  dogmas  expressed,  or  whether  expressed  in  any, 
that  has  reconciled  for   him  the  contradictions  of  existence, 


RICHTER.  135 

that  has  overspread  his  path  with  light,  and  chastened  the 
fiery  elements  of  his  spirit  by  mingling  with  them  Mercy 
and  Humility.  To  many  of  my  readers  it  may  be  surpris- 
ing, that  in  this  respect  Richter  is  almost  solitary  among 
the  great  minds  of  his  country.  These  men  too,  with  few 
exceptions,  seem  to  have  arrived  at  spiritual  peace,  at  full 
harmonious. development  of  being;  but  their  path  to  it  has 
been  different.  In  Richter  alone,  among  the  great  (and 
even  sometimes  truly  moral)  writers  of  his  day,*  do  we  find 
the  Immortality  of  the  Soul  expressly  insisted  on,  nay  so 
much  as  incidentally  alluded  to.  This  is  a  fact  well  merit- 
ing investigation  and  reflection,  but  here  is  not  the  place  for 
treating  it. 

Of  Richter's  Works  I  have  left  myself  no  room  for  speak- 
ing individually  ;  nor,  except  with  large  details,  could  the 
criticism  of  them  be  attempted  with  any  profit.  His  Novels, 
published  in  what  order  I  have  not  accurately  learned,  are 
the  Unsichtbare  Loge  (Invisible  Lodge);  Flegeljahre  (Wild 
Oats) ;  Leben  Fibels,  Verfassers  der  Beinrodischen  Fibel 
(Life  of  Fibel ;  or,  to  translate  the  spirit  of  it,  Life  of  Primer, 
Author  of  the  Christ-church  Primer)  ;  Leben  des  Quintus 
Fixlein,  and  Schmelzle's  Reise,  here  presented  to  the  Eng- 
lish reader ;  Katzenbcrger^s  Badereise,  and  the  Jubel- 
senior ;  with  two  of  much  larger  and  more  ambitious  struc- 
ture, Hesperus  and  Titan,  each  of  which  I  have  in  its 
turn   seen   rated  as  his  masterpiece.    The   former   only   is 

*  The  two  venerable  Jacobis  belong,  in  character,  if  scarcely  in 
date,  to  an  older  school  ;  so  also  does  Herder,  from  whom  Richter 
learned  much,  both  morally  and  intellectually,  and  whom  he  seems 
to  have  loved  and  reverenced  beyond  any  other.  Wieland  is  in- 
telligible enough  ;  a  skeptic  in  the  style  of  Bolingbroke  and  Shaftes- 
bury, what  we  call  a  French  or  Scotch  skeptic,  a  rather  shallow 
species.  Lessing  also  is  a  skeptic,  but  of  a  much  nobler  sort;  a 
doubter  who  deserved  to  believe. 


136 


RICHTER. 


known  to  me.  His  work  on  Criticism  has  been  mentioned 
already  ;  he  has  also  written  on  Education  a  volume  named 
Levana  ;  the  Campanerthdl  (Campanian  Vale)  I  understand 
to  turn  upon  the  Immortality  of"  the  Soul.  His  miscellane- 
ous and  fugitive  writings  were  long  to  enumerate.  Essays, 
fantasies,  apologues,  dreams,  have  appeared  in  various  peri- 
odicals ;  the  best  of  these  performances,  collected  and  re- 
vised by  himself,  were  published  some  years  ago,  under  the 
title  of  Herbst-B famine  (Autumnal  Flora).  There  is  also 
a  Chrestomathie  (what  we  should  call  Beauties)  of  Richter, 
in  four  volumes. 

To  characterize  these  works  would  be  difficult  after  the 
fullest  inspection  ;  to  describe  them  to  English  readers 
would  be  next  to  impossible.  Whether  poetical,  philosophi- 
cal, didactic,  or  fantastic,  they  seem  all  to  be  emblems, 
more  or  less  complete,  of  the  singular  mind  where  they  orig- 
inated. As  a  whole,  the  first  perusal  of  them,  more  partic- 
ularly to  a  foreigner,  is  almost  infallibly  offensive  ;  and 
neither  their  meaning,  nor  their  no-meaning,  is  to  be  dis- 
cerned without  long  and  sedulous  study.  They  are  a  trop- 
ical wilderness,  full  of  endless  tortuosities;  but  with  the 
fairest  flowers,  and  the  coolest  fountains;  now  overarching 
us  with  high,  umbrageous  gloom,  now  opening  in  long,  gor- 
geous vistas.  We  wander  through  them  enjoying  their 
wild  grandeur ;  and  by  degrees  our  half-contemptuous 
wonder  at  the  Author  passes  into  reverence  and  love.  His 
face  was  long  hid  from  us  ;  but  we  see  him,  at  length,  in 
the  firm  shape  of  spiritual  manhood;  a  vast  and  most  singu- 
lar nature,  but  vindicating  his  singular  nature  by  the  force, 
the  beauty,  and  benignity  which  pervade  it.  In  fine,  we 
joyfully  accept  him  for  what  he  is,  and  was  meant  to  be. 
The  graces,  the  polish,  the  sprightly  elegancies  which  belong 
to  men  of  lighter  make,  we  cannot  look  for  or  demand  from 
him.     His  movement  is  essentially  slow  and  cumbrous,  for 


RICHTER.  137 

he  advances  not  with  one  faculty,  but  with  a  whole  mind  ; 
with  intellect,  and  pathos,  and  wit,  and  humor,  and  imagi- 
nation, moving  onward  like  a  mighty  host,  motley,  ponder- 
ous, irregular,  and  irresistible.  He  is  not  airy,  sparkling, 
and  precise  ;  but  deep,  billowy,  and  vast.  The  melody  of 
his  nature  is  not  expressed  in  common  note-marks,  or  writ- 
ten down  by  the  critical  gamut ;  for  it  is  wild  and  manifold  ; 
its  voice  is  like  the  voice  of  cataracts  and  the  sounding  of 
primeval  forests.  To  feeble  ears  it  is  discord,  but  to  ears 
that  understand  it,  deep,  majestic  music. 

In  his  own  country,  we  are  told,*  "  Richter  has  been  in 
fashion,  then  out  of  fashion,  then  in  it  again;  till  at  last  he 
has  been  raised  far  above  all  fashion,"  which  indeed  is  his 
proper  place.  What  his  fate  will  be  in  England  is  now  to 
be  decided.  Could  much  respected  counsels  from  admirers 
of  Richter  have  availed  with  me,  he  had  not  at  present  been 
put  upon  his  trial.  Predictions  are  unanimous  that  here  he 
will  be  condemned  or  even  neglected.  Of  my  countrymen, 
in  this  small  instance,  I  have  ventured  to  think  otherwise. 
To  those,  it  is  true,  "  the  space  of  whose  Heaven  does  not 
extend  more  than  three  ells,"  and  who  understand  and  per- 
ceive that  with  these  three  ells  the  Canopy  of  the  Universe 
terminates,  Richter  will  justly   enough  appear  a   monster, 

*  Franz  Horn's  Poesie  und  Bcredsamkeit  der  Deutschen  (Poetry 
and  Eloquence  of  the  Germans,  from  Luther's  time  to  the  present); 
a  woik  which  I  am  bound  to  recommend  to  all  students  of  German 
literature,  as  a  valuable  guide  and  indicator.  Bating  a  certain  not 
altogether  erroneous  sectarianism  in  regard  to  religion  ;  and  a  cer- 
tain janty  priggishness  of  style,  nay,  it  must  be  owned,  a  corre- 
sponding priggishness  of  character,  they  will  find  in  Horn  a  lively, 
fair,  well-read,  and  on  the  whole  interesting  and  instructive  critic. 
The  work  is  in  three  volumes  ;  to  which  a  prior  publication,  entitled 
Umrisse  (Outlines),  forms  a  fourth  ;  bringing  down  the  History,  or 
rather  Sketch,  to  the  borders  of  the  year  1819. 
12* 


138  RICHTER. 

from  without  the  verge  of  warm  three-ell  Creation  ;  and 
their  duty  with  regard  to  him  will  limit  itself  to  chasing 
him  forth  of  the  habitable  World,  back  again  into  his  native 
Chaos.  If  we  judge  of  works  of  art,  as  the  French  do  of 
language,  with  a  Cela  ne  se  dit  pas,  Richter  will  not  escape 
his  doom  ;  for  it  is  too  true  that  he  respects  not  the  majesty 
of  Use  and  Wont,  and  has  said  and  thought  much  which 
is  by  no  means  usually  said  and  thought.  In  England, 
however,  such  principles  of  literary  jurisprudence  are  rarer. 
To  many,  I  may  hope,  even  this  dim  glimpse  of  a  spirit 
like  Richter's  will  be  gratifying  ;  and  if  it  can  hardly  be  ex- 
pected that  their  first  judgment  of  him  will  be  favorable, 
curiosity  may  be  awakened,  and  a  second  and  a  truer  judg- 
ment, on  ampler  grounds  and  maturer  reflection,  may  follow. 
His  larger  works  must  ultimately  become  known  to  us. 
They  deserve  it  better  than  thousands  which  have  had  that 
honor. 

Of  the  two  Works  here  offered  to  the  reader,  little  special 
explanation  is  required.      SchmelzWs  Journey  I  have  not 
found  noticed  by  any  of  his  German  critics;  and  must  give 
it  on  my  own  responsibility,  as  one  of  the  most  finished,  as  it 
is  at  least  one  of  the  simplest,  among   his  smaller  humorous 
performances.      The  Life  of  Fixlein,  no  stepchild  in  its  own 
country,  seems  nevertheless  a  much  more  immature,  as  it  is 
a  much  earlier  composition.     I  select  it   not   without  reluc- 
tance ;  rather  from  necessity  than   preference.     Its  faults,  I 
am  too  sure,  will  strike  us  much  sooner  than  its   beauties ; 
and  even  by  the  friendliest  and   most   patient  critic,  it  must 
be  admitted,  that,  among  the  latter,  many   of  our   Author's 
highest  qualities  are  by  no  means  exhibited   in   full   concen- 
tration, nay,  that  some  of  them  are  wanting  altogether,  or, 
at  best,  indicated  rather  than   evinced.     Let   the   reader  ac- 
cept it  with  such   allowances ;  not  as   Richter's  best  novel, 
which  it  is  far  from   being,  but  simply  as   his   shortest  com- 


RICHTER. 


139 


plete  one ;  not  as  a  full  impress  of  him,  but  as  a  faint  out- 
line, intended  rather  to  excite  curiosity  than  to  satisfy  it. 
On  the  whole,  Richter's  is  a  mind  peculiarly  difficult  to  rep- 
resent by  specimen  ;  for  its  elements  are  complex  and  vari- 
ous, and  it  is  not  more  by  quality  than  by  quantity  that  it 
impresses  us. 

Both  Works  I  have  endeavored  to  present  in  their  full 
dimensions,  with  all  their  appurtenances,  strange  as  some  of 
these  may  appear.  If  the  language  seem  rugged,  hetero- 
geneous, perplexed,  the  blame  is  not  wholly  mine.  Richter's 
style  may  be  pronounced  the  most  untranslatable,  not  in 
German  only,  but  in  any  other  modern  literature.*  Let  the 
English  reader  fancy  a  Burton  writing,  not  an  Anatomy  of 
Melancholy,  but  a  foreign  romance,  through  the  scriptory 
organs  of  a  Jeremy  Bentham  !  Richter  exhausts  all  the 
powers  of  his  own  most  ductile  language  ;  what  in  him  was 
overstrained  and  rude  would  naturally  become  not  less  but 
more  so  in  the  hands  of  his  translator. 

For  this,  and  many  other  offences  of  my  Author,  apolo- 
gies might  be  attempted  ;  but  much  as  I  wish  for  a  favor- 
able sentence,  it  is  not  meet  that  Richter,  in  the  Literary 
Judgment-hall,  should  appear  as  a  culprit ;    or  solicit  suf- 

*  The  following  long  title  of  a  little  German  Book  I  may  quote 
by  way  of  premunition  :  "  K.  Reinhold's  Lexicon  for  Jean  Paul's 
Works,  or  Explanation  of  all  the  foreign  Words  and  unusual  Modes 
of  Speech  which  occur  in  his  Writings  ;  with  short  Notices  of  the  his- 
torical Persons  and  Facts  therein  alluded  to ;  and  plain  German 
Versions  of  the  most  difficult  Passages  in  the  Context.  A  necessary 
Assistant  for  all  who  would  read  those  Works  icith  Profit.  First 
volume,  containing  Levana.  Leipzig,  1808."  Unhappily,  with 
this  First  Volume,  K.  Reinhold  seems  to  have  stopped  short.  More 
than  once,  in  the  following  pages,  have  I  longed  for  his  help;  and 
been  forced  at  last  to  rest  satisfied  with  a  meaning,  and  too  imper- 
fect a  conviction  that  it  was  the  right  one. 


140  RICHTEH. 

frages,  which,  if  he  cannot  claim  them,  are  unavailing. 
With  the  hundred  real,  and  the  ten  thousand  seeming  weak- 
nesses of  his  cause,  a  fair  trial  is  a  thing  he  will  court  rather 
than  dread. 


ARMY-CHAPLAIN     SCHMELZLE'S 
JOURNEY    TO     FLATZ; 

WITH 

A  RUNNING  COMMENTARY  OF  NOTES. 
BY    JEAN    PAUL. 


PREFACE 


This,  I  conceive,  may  be  managed  in  two  words. 

The  first  word  must  relate  to  the  Circular  Letter  of  Army- 
chaplain  Schmelzle,  wherein  he  describes  to  his  friends  his 
Journey  to  the  metropolitan  city  of  Flatz  ;  after  having,  in 
an  Introduction,  premised  some  proofs  and  assurances  of 
his  valor.  Properly  speaking,  the  Journey  itself  has  been 
written  purely  with  a  view  that  his  courageousness,  impugn- 
ed by  rumor,  may  be  fully  evinced  and  demonstrated  by 
the  plain  facts  which  he  therein  records.  Whether,  in  the 
mean  time,  there  shall  not  be  found  certain  quick-scented 
readers,  who  may  infer,  directly  contrariwise,  that  his 
breast  is  not  everywhere  bomb-proof,  especially  in  the  left 
side ;  on  this  point  I  keep  my  judgment  suspended. 

For  the  rest,  I  beg  the  judges  of  literature,  as  well  as 
their  satellites,  the  critics  of  literature,  to  regard  this  Jour- 
ney, for  whose  literary  contents  I,  as  Editor,  am  answerable, 
solely  in  the  light  of  a  Portrait  (in  the  French  sense),  a 
little  Sketch  of  Character.  It  is  a  voluntary  or  involuntary 
comedy-piece,  at  which  I  have  laughed  so  often,  that  I  pur- 
pose in  time  coming  to  paint  some  similar  Pictures  of  Char- 
acter myself.  And,  for  the  present,  when  could  such  a 
little  comic  toy  be  more  fitly  imparted  and  set  forth  to  the 
world  than  in  these  very  days,  when  the  sound  both  of 
heavy  money  and  of  light  laughter  has  died  away  from 
among  us  ;  when,  like  the  Turks,  we  count  and  pay  merely 


144  R1CHTER. 

with  sealed  purses^  and  the  coin  within  them  has  van- 
ished ? 

Despicable  would  it  seem  to  me,  if  any  clownish  squire 
of  the  goose-quill  should  publicly  and  censoriously  demand 
of  me,  in  what  way  this  self-cabinetpiece  of  Schmelzle's 
has  come  into  my  hands.  I  know  it  well,  and  do  not  dis- 
close it.  This  comedy-piece,  for  which  I,  at  all  events,  as 
my  Bookseller  will  testify,  draw  the  profit  myself,  I  got  hold 
of  so  unblamably,  that  I  await,  with  unspeakable  composure, 
what  the  Army-chaplain  shall  please  to  say  against  the  pub- 
lication of  it,  in  case  he  say  anything  at  all.  My  conscience 
bears  me  witness,  that  I  acquired  this  article,  at  least  by 
more  honorable  methods  than  are  those  of  the  learned  per- 
sons who  steal  with  their  ears,  who,  in  the  character  of 
spiritual  auditory-thieves,  and  classroom  cutpurses  and 
pirates,  are  in  the  habit  of  disloading  their  plundered  Lec- 
tures, and  vending  them  up  and  down  the  country  as  pro- 
ductions of  their  own.  Hitherto,  in  my  whole  life,  I  have 
stolen  little,  except  now  and  then  in  youth  some  —  glances. 

The  second  word  must  explain  or  apologize  for  the  singu- 
lar form  of  this  little  Work,  standing  as  it  does  on  a  sub- 
stratum of  Notes.  I  myself  am  not  contented  with  it.  Let 
the  World  open,  and  look,  and  determine,  in  like  manner. 
But  the  truth  is,  this  line  of  demarcation,  stretching  through 
the  whole  book,  originated  in  the  following  accident;  certain 
thoughts  (or  digressions)  of  my  own,  with  which  it  was  not 
permitted  me  to  disturb  those  of  the  Army-chaplain,  and 
which  could  only  be  allowed  to  fight  behind  the  lines,  in  the 
shape  of  Notes,  I,  with  a  view  to  conveniency  and  order, 
had  written  down  in  a  separate  paper;  at  the  same  time,  as 
will  be  observed,  regularly  providing  every  Note  with  its 
Number,  and  thus  referring  it  to  the  proper  page  of  the 
main  Manuscript.  But,  in  the  copying  of  the  latter,  I  had 
forgotten  to  insert  the  corresponding  numbers  in  the  Text 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.     145 

itself.  Therefore,  let  no  man,  any  more  than  I  do,  cast  a 
stone  at  my  worthy  Printer,  in  as  much  as  he  (perhaps  in 
the  thought  that  it  was  my  way,  that  I  had  some  purpose  in 
it)  took  these  Notes,  just  as  they  stood,  pellmell,  without  ar- 
rangement of  Numbers,  and  clapped  them  under  the  Text ; 
at  the  same  time,  by  a  praiseworthy,  artful  computation, 
taking  care  at  least,  that,  at  the  bottom  of  every  page  in 
the  Text,  there  should  some  portion  of  this  glittering  Note- 
precipitate  make  its  appearance.  Well,  the  thing  at  any 
rate  is  done,  nay  perpetuated,  namely  printed.  After  all,  I 
might  almost  partly  rejoice  at  it.  For,  in  good  truth,  had  I 
meditated  for  years  (as  I  have  done  for  the  last  twenty) 
how  to  provide  for  my  digression-comets  new  orbits,  if  not 
focal  suns,  for  my  episodes  new  epopees, —  I  could  scarce 
possibly  have  hit  upon  a  better  or  more  spacious  Limbo  for 
such  Vanities  than  Chance  and  Printer  here  accidentally 
offer  me  ready-made.  I  have  only  to  regret  that  the  thing 
has  been  printed  before  I  could  turn  it  to  account.  Heav- 
ens !  what  remotest  allusions  (had  I  known  it  before  print- 
ing) might  not  have  been  privily  introduced  in  every  Text- 
page  and  Note-number ;  and  what  apparent  incongruity  in 
the  real  congruity  between  this  upper  and  under  side  of  the 
cards  !  How  vehemently  and  devilishly  might  one  not  have 
cut  aloft,  and  to  the  right  and  left,  from  these  impregnable 
casemates  and  covered-ways  ;  and  what  Icesio  ultra  dimi- 
dium  (injury  beyond  the  half  of  the  Text)  might  not, 
with  these  satirical  injuries,  have  been  effected  and  com- 
pleted ! 

But  Fate  meant  not  so  kindly  with  me  ;  of  this  golden 
harvest-field  of  satire  I  was  not  to  be  informed  till  three 
days  before  the  Preface. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  writing  world,  by  the  little  blue 
flame  of  this  accident,  may  be  guided  to  a  weightier  acquisi- 
tion, to  a   larger  subterranean   treasure,   than  I,  alas,  have 

VOL.  II.  13 


146  RICHTER. 

dug  up  !  For,  to  the  writer,  there  is  now  a  way  pointed  out 
of  producing  in  one  marbled  volume  a  group  of  altogether 
different  works  ;  of  writing  in  one  leaf,  for  both  sexes  at  the 
same  time,  without  confounding  them,  nay,  for  the  five 
faculties  all  at  once,  without  disturbing  their  limitations ; 
since  now,  instead  of  boiling  up  a  vile,  fermenting  shove- 
together,  fit  for  nobody,  he  has  nothing  to  do  but  draw  his 
note-lines  or  partition-lines  ;  and  so  on  his  five-story  leaf 
give  board  and  lodging  to  the  most  discordant  heads.  Per- 
haps one  might  then  read  many  a  book  for  the  fourth  time, 
simply  because  every  time  one  had  read  but  a  fourth  part 
of  it. 

On  the  whole,  this  Work  has  at  least  the  property  of 
being  a  short  one ;  so  that  the  reader,  I  hope,  may  almost 
run  through  it,  and  read  it  at  the  bookseller's  counter,  with- 
out, as  in  the  case  of  thicker  volumes,  first  needing  to  buy 
it.  And  why,  indeed,  in  this  world  of  Matter  should  any- 
thing whatever  be  great,  except  only  what  belongs  not  to  it, 
the  world  of  Spirit  ? 

Jean  Paul  Fr.  Richter. 

Bayreuth,  in  the  Hay  and  Peace  Month,  1807. 


SCHMELZLE'S  JOURNEY  TO  FLATZ. 


Circular  Letter  of  the  proposed  Catechetical  Professor 
Attila  Schmelzle  to  his  Friends ;  containing  some 
Account  of  a  Holidays'  Journey  to  Flatz,  with  an  Intro- 
duction, touching  his  Flight,  and  his  Courage  as  former 
Army -chaplain. 

Nothing  can  be  more  ludicrous,  my  esteemed  Friends, 
than  to  hear  people  stigmatizing  a  man  as  cowardly  and 
hare-hearted,  who  perhaps  is  struggling  all  the  while  with 
precisely  the  opposite  faults,  those  of  a  lion  ;  though  indeed 
the  African  lion  himself,  since  the  time  of  Sparrmann's 
Travels,  passes  among  us  for  poltroon.  Yet  this  case  is 
mine,  worthy  Friends ;  and  I  purpose  to  say  a  few  words 
thereupon,  before  describing  my  Journey. 

You  in  truth  are  all  aware  that,  directly  in  the  teeth  of 
this  calumny,  it  is  courage,  it  is  desperadoes  (provided  they 
be  not  braggarts  and  tumultuous  persons),  whom  I  chiefly 
venerate  ;  for  example,  my  brother-in-law,  the  Dragoon, 
who  never  in  his  life  bastinadoed  one  man,  but  always  a 
whole  social  circle  at  the  same  time.  How  truculent  was 
my  fancy,  even  in  childhood,  when  I,  as  the  parson  was 
toning  away  to  the  silent  congregation,  used  to  take  it  into 

103.  Good  princes  easily  obtain  good  subjects ;  not  so  easily  good 
subjects  good  princes  ;  thus  Adam,  in  the  state  x>f  innocence,  ruled 
over  animals  all  tame  and  gentle,  till  simply  through  his  means 
they  fell  and  grew  savage. 


148  RICHTER. 

my  head  :  "  How  now,  if  thou  shouldst  start  up  from  thy  pew, 
and  shout  aloud,  I  am  here  too,  Mr.  Parson  !"  and  to  paint 
out  this  thought  in  such  glowing  colors,  that,  for  very  dread, 
I  have  often  been  obliged  to  leave  the  church  !  Anything 
like  Rugenda's  battle-pieces ;  horrid  murder-tumults,  sea- 
fights  or  Stormings  of  Toulon,  exploding  fleets;  and,  in 
my  childhood,  Battles  of  Prague  on  the  harpsichord  ;  nay, 
in  short,  every  map  of  any  remarkable  scene  of  war  ;  these 
are  perhaps  too  much  my  favorite  objects;  and  I  read  — 
and  purchase  nothing  sooner ;  and  doubtless,  they  might 
lead  me  into  many  errors,  were  it  not  that  my  circumstances 
restrain  me.  Now,  if  it  be  objected  that  true  courage  is 
something  higher  than  mere  thinking  and  willing,  then  you, 
my  worthy  friends,  will  be  the  first  to  recognize  mine,  when 
it  shall  break  forth  into  not  barren  and  empty,  but  active 
and  effective  words,  while  I  strengthen  my  future  Catechet- 
ical Pupils,  as  well  as  can  be  done  in  a  course  of  College 
Lectures,  and  steel  them  into  Christian  heroes. 

It  is  well  known  that,  out  of  care  for  the  preservation  of 
my  life,  I  never  walk  within  at  least  ten  fields  of  any  shore 
full  of  bathers  or  swimmers ;  merely  because  I  foresee  to  a 
certainty,  that,  in  case  one  of  them  were  drowning,  I  should 
that  moment  (for  the  heart  overbalances  the  head)  plunge 
after  the  fool  to  save  him,  into  some  bottomless  depth  or 
other,  where  we  should  both  perish.  And  if  dreaming  is 
the  reflex  of  waking,  let  me  ask  you,  true  Hearts,  if  you 
have  forgotten  my  relating  to  you  dreams  of  mine,  which  no 
Caesar,  no  Alexander  or  Luther,  need  have  felt  ashamed 
of?  Have  I  not,  to  mention  a  few  instances,  taken  Rome 
by  storm ;  and  done  battle  with  the  Pope  and  the  whole 
elephantine  body  of  the   Cardinal  College,  at  one  and  the 

5.  For  a  good  Physician  saves,  if  not  always  from  the  disease,  at 
least  from  a  bad  Physician. 


schmelzle's   journey  to  flaetz.  149 

same  time  ?  Did  I  not  once  on  horseback,  while  simply 
looking  at  a  review  of  military,  dash  headlong  into  a  iatail- 
lon  quarre  ;  and  then  capture,  in  Aix-la-Chapelle,  the 
Peruke  of  Charlemagne,  for  which  the  town  pays  yearly 
ten  reichsthalers  of  barber-money ;  and  carrying  it  off  to 
Halberstadt  von  Gleim,  there  in  like  manner  seize  the  Great 
Frederick's  Hat  ;  put  both  Peruke  and  Hat  on  my  head, 
and  yet  return  home,  after  I  had  stormed  their  batteries  and 
turned  the  cannon  against  the  cannoneers  themselves?  Did 
I  not  once  submit  to  be  made  a  Jew  of,  and  then  be  regaled 
with  hams ;  though  they  were  ape-hams  on  the  Orinocco 
(see  Humboldt)  ?  And  a  thousand  such  things  ;  for  I  have 
thrown  the  Consistorial  President  of  Flatz  out  of  the  Palace 
window ;  those  alarm-fulminators,  sold  by  Heinrich  Backo- 
fen  in  Gotha,  at  six  groschen  the  dozen,  and  each  going  off 
like  a  cannon,  I  have  listened  to  so  calmly  that  the  ful- 
minators  did  not  even  awaken  me  ;  and  more  of  the  like 
sort. 

But  enough  !  It  is  now  time  briefly  to  touch  that  farther 
slander  of  my  chaplainship,  which  unhappily  has  likewise 
gained  some  circulation  "in  Flatz,  but  which,  as  Caesar  did 
Alexander,  I  shall  now  by  my  touch  dissipate  into  dust. 
Be  what  truth  in  it  there  can,  it  is  still  little  or  nothing. 
Your  great  Minister  and  General  in  Flatz  (perhaps  the  very 
greatest  in  the  world,  for  there  are  not  many  Schabackers) 
may  indeed,  like  any  other  great  man,  be  turned  against 
me  ;  but  not  with  the  Artillery  of  Truth;  for  this  Artillery 
I  here  set  before  you,  my  good  Hearts,  and  do  you  but  fire 
it  off  for  my  advantage  !    The  matter  is  this.    Certain  foolish 

100.  In  books  lie  the  Phoenix-ashes  of  a  past  Millennium  and  Par- 
adise }  but  War  blows,  and  much  ashes  are  scattered  away. 

102.  Dear  Political  or  Religious  Inquisitor!  Art  thou  aware  that 
Turin  tapers  never  rightly  begin  shining  till  thou  breakest  them, 
and  then  they  take  fire  ? 

13* 


510  RICHTER. 

rumors  are  afloat  in  the  Flatz  country,  that  I,  on  occasion 
of  some  important  battles,  took  leg-bail  (such  is  their  ple- 
beian phrase),  and  that  afterwards,  on  the  chaplain's  being 
called  for  to  preach  a  Thanksgiving  sermon  for  the  victory, 
no  chaplain  whatever  was  to  be  found.  The  ridiculousness 
of  this  story  will  best  appear,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  never 
was  in  any  action  ;  but  have  always  been  accustomed,  sev- 
eral hours  prior  to  such  an  event,  to  withdraw  so  many 
miles  to  the  rear,  that  our  men,  so  soon  as  they  were  beaten, 
would  be  sure  to  find  me.  A  good  retreat  is  reckoned  the 
masterpiece  in  the  art  of  war  ;  and  at  no  time  can  a  retreat 
be  executed  with  such  order,  force,  and  security,  as  just 
before  the  battle,  when  you  are  not  yet  beaten. 

It  is  true,  I  might  perhaps,  as  expectant  Professor  of 
Catechetics,  sit  still  and  smile  at  such  nugatory  speculations 
on  my  courage  ;  for  if  by  Socratic  questioning  I  can  ham- 
mer my  future  Catechist  Pupils  into  the  habit  of  asking 
questions  in  their  turn,  I  shall  thereby  have  tempered  them 
into  heroes,  seeing  they  have  nothing  to  fight  with  but  chil- 
dren—  (Catechists  at  all  events,  though  dreading  fire,  have 
no  reason  to  dread  light,  since  in  our  days,  as  in  London 
illuminations,  it  is  only  the  unlighted  windows  that  are 
battered  in ;  whereas,  in  other  ages,  it  was  with  nations  and 
light  as  it  is  with  dogs  and  water ;  if  you  give  them  none 
for  a  long  time,  they  at  last  get  a  horror  at  it) ;  —  and  on 
the  whole,  for  Catechists,  any  park  looks  kindlier,  and 
smiles  more  sweetly,  than  a  sulphurous  park  of  artillery  ; 
and  the  Warlike  Foot,  which  the  age  is  placed  on,  is  to 
them  the  true  Devil's  cloven-foot  of  human  nature. 

But  for  my  part  I  think    not  so  ;  almost  as  if  the   party 
spirit  of  my  Christian   name,  Attila,   had   passed   into   me 

86.  Very  true!     In  youth  we  love  and  enjoy  the  most  ill-assorted 
friends,  perhaps  more  than^  in  old  age,  the  best  assorted. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  151 

more  strongly  than  was  proper,  I  feel  myself  impelled  still 
farther  to  prove  my  courageousness  ;  which, dearest  Friends! 
I  shall  here  in  a  few  lines  again  do.  This  proof  I  could 
manage  by  mere  inferences  and  learned  citations.  For 
example,  if  Galen  remarks  that  animals  with  large  hind- 
quarters are  timid,  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  turn  round,  and 
show  the  enemy  my  back  and  what  is  under  it,  in  order  to 
convince  him  that  I  am  not  deficient  in  valor,  but  in  flesh. 
Again,  if  by  well-known  experiences  it  has  been  found  that 
flesh-eating  produces  courage,  I  can  evince  that  in  this 
particular  I  yield  to  no  officer  of  the  service  ;  though  it  is 
the  habit  of  these  gentlemen  not  only  to  run  up  long  scores 
of  roastmeat  with  their  landlords,  but  also  to  leave  them 
unpaid,  that  so  at  every  hour  they  may  have  an  open  doc- 
ument in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  himself  (the  landlord), 
testifying  that  they  have  eaten  their  own  share  (with  some 
of  other  people's  too),  and  so  put  common  butcher-meat  on 
a  War-footing,  living  not  like  others  by  bravery,  but  for 
bravery.  As  little  have  I  ever,  in  my  character  of  chaplain, 
shrunk  from  comparison  with  any  officer  in  the  regiment, 
who  may  be  a  true  lion,  and  so  snatch  every  sort  of  plun- 
der, but  yet,  like  this  King  of  the  Beasts,  is  afraid  of  fire ; 
or  who, —  like  King  James  of  England,*  that  scampered  off 
at  sight  of  drawn  swords,  yet  so  much  the  more  gallantly, 
before  all  Europe,  went  out  against  the  storming  Luther 
with  book  and  pen, —  does,  from  a  similar  idiosyncrasy, 
attack  all  warlike  armaments,  both  by  word  and  writing. 
And  here  I  recollect,  with  satisfaction,  a  brave  sub-lieutenant, 
whose   confessor  I  was  (he   still  owes   me   the  confession- 

128.  In  Love  there  are  Summer   Holidays;  but  in  Marriage  also 
there  are  Winter  Holidays,  I  hope. 

*  The  good  Professor  of  Catechetics  is  out  here.     Indignor  quan- 
doque  bonus  dormitat  Schmelzlc.  —  Ed. 


152  RICHTEIl. 

money),  and  who,  in  respect  of  stout-heartedness,  had  in 
him  perhaps  something  of  that  Indian  dog  which  Alexander 
had  presented  to  him,  as  a  sort  of  Dog-Alexander.  By- 
way of  trying  this  crack  dog,  the  Macedonian  made  various 
heroic  or  heraldic  beasts  be  let  loose  against  him  ;  first  a 
stag;  but  the  dog  lay  still  ;  then  a  sow  ;  he  lay  still  ;  then 
a  bear;  he  lay  still.  Alexander  was  on  the  point  of  con- 
demning him  ;  when  a  lion  was  let  forth  ;  the  dog  rose,  and 
tore  the  lion  in  pieces.  So  likewise  the  sub-lieutenant.  A 
challenger,  a  foreign  enemy,  a  Frenchman,  are  to  him  only 
stag,  and  sow,  and  bear,  and  he  lies  still  in  his  place  ;  but 
let  his  oldest  enemy,  his  creditor,  come  and  knock  at  his 
gate,  and  demand  of  him  actual  smart-money  for  long  by- 
gone pleasures,  thus  presuming  to  rob  him  loth  of  past  and 
present ;  the  sub-lieutenant  rises,  and  throws  his  creditor 
down  stairs.  I,  alas,  am  still  standing  by  the  sow  ;  and 
thus,  naturally  enough,  misunderstood. 

Quo,  says  Livy,  xii.  5,  and  with  great  justice,  quo  timoris 
minus  est,  eo  minus  ferme  periculi  est,  The  less  fear  you 
have,  the  less  danger  you  are  likely  to  be  in.  With  equal 
justice  I  invert  the  maxim,  and  say,  The  less  the  danger, 
the  smaller  the  fear;  nay,  there  may  be  situations  in  which 
one  has  absolutely  no  knowledge  of  fear ;  and,  among 
these,  mine  is  to  be  reckoned.  The  more  hateful,  therefore, 
must  that  calumny  about  hare-heartedness  appear  to  me. 

To  my  Holidays'  Journey  I  shall  prefix  a  few  facts, 
which  prove  how  easily  foresight  —  that  is  to  say,  when  a 
person  would  not  resemble  the  stupid  marmot,  that  will 
even  attack  a  man  on  horseback  —  may  pass  for  cowardice. 

143.  Women  have  weekly  at  least  one  active  and  passive  day  of 
glory,  the  holy  day,  the  Sunday.  The  higher  ranks  alone  have  more 
Sundays  than  work-days ;  as  in  great  towns,  you  can  celebrate 
your  Sunday  on  Friday  with  the  Turks,  on  Saturday  with  the  Jews, 
and  on  Sunday  with  yourself. 


153 

For  the  rest,  I  wish  only  that  I  could  with  equal  ease  wipe 
away  a  quite  different  reproach,  that  of  being  a  foolhardy 
desperado  ;  though  I  trust,  in  the  sequel,  I  shall  be  able  to 
advance  some  facts  which  invalidate  it. 

What  boots  the  heroic  arm,  without  a  hero's  eye  ?  The 
former  readily  grows  stronger  and  more  nervous  ;  but  the 
latter  is  not  so  soon  ground  sharper,  like  glasses.  Never- 
theless, the  merits  of  foresight  obtain  from  the  mass  of  men 
less  admiration  (nay,  I  should  say,  more  ridicule)  than  those 
of  courage.  Whoso,  for  instance,  shall  see  me  walking 
under  quite  cloudless  skies  with  a  wax-cloth  umbrella  over 
me,  to  him  I  shall  probably  appear  ridiculous,  so  long  as  he 
is  not  aware  that  I  carry  this  umbrella  as  a  thunder-screen, 
to  keep  off  any  bolt  out  of  the  blue  heaven  (whereof  there 
are  several  examples  in  the  history  of  the  Middle  Ages) 
from  striking  me  to  death.  My  thunder-screen,  in  fact,  is 
exactly  that  of  Reimarus.  On  a  long  walking-stick  I  carry 
the  wax-cloth  roof;  from  the  peak  of  which  depends  a 
string  of  gold-lace  as  a  conductor;  and  this,  by  means  of  a 
key  fastened  to  it,  which  it  trails  along  the  ground,  will  lead 
off  every  possible  bolt,  and  easily  distribute  it  over  the 
whole  superficies  of  the  Earth.  With  this  Paratonnerre 
Portatif  in  my  hand,  I  can  walk  about  for  weeks  under 
the  clear  sky,  without  the  smallest  danger.  This  Diving- 
bell,  moreover,  protects  me  against  something  else;  against 
shot.  For  who,  in  the  latter  end  of  Harvest,  will  give  me 
black  on  white  that  no  lurking  ninny  of  a  sportsman  some- 
where, when  I  am  out  enjoying  Nature,  shall  so  fire  off  his 
piece,   at  an  angle   of  45°,  that,  in  falling  down  again,  the 

21.  Schiller  and  Klopstock  are  Poetic  Mirrors  held  up  to  the 
Sun-god;  the  Mirrors  reflect  the  Sun  with  such  dazzling  bright- 
ness that  you  cannot  find  the  Picture  of  the  World  imaged  forth  in 
them. 


154  RICHTER. 

shot  needs  only  light  directly  on  my  crown,  and  so  come 
to  the  same  as  if  I  had  been  shot  through  the  brain  from  a 
side  ? 

It  is  bad  enough,  at  any  rate,  that  we  have  nothing  to 
guard  us  from  the  Moon  ;  which  at  present  is  bombarding 
us  with  stones  like  a  very  Turk  ;  for  this  paltry  little  Earth's 
train-bearer  and  errand-maid  thinks,  in  these  rebellious 
times,  that  she  too  must  begin,  forsooth,  to  sling  somewhat 
against  her  Mother  !  In  good  truth,  as  matters  stand,  any 
young  Catechist  of  feeling  may  go  out  o'  nights,  with  whole 
limbs,  into  the  moonshine,  a-meditating  ;  and  ere  long  (in 
the  midst  of  his  meditation  the  villanous  Satellite  hits  him) 
come  home  a  pounded  jelly.  By  Heaven  !  new  proofs  of 
courage  are  required  of  us  on  every  hand  !  No  sooner  have 
we,  with  great  effort,  got  thunder-rods  manufactured,  and 
comet-tails  explained  away,  than  the  enemy  opens  new 
batteries  in  the  Moon,  or  somewhere  else  in  the  Blue  ! 

Suffice  one  other  story  to  manifest  how  ludicrous  the 
most  serious  foresight,  with  all  imaginable  inward  courage, 
often  externally  appears  in  the  eyes  of  the  many.  Eques- 
trians are  well  acquainted  with  the  dangers  of  a  horse  that 
runs  away.  My  evil  star  would  have  it  that  I  should  once 
in  Vienna  get  upon  a  hack-horse  ;  a  pretty  enough  honey- 
colored  nag,  but  old  and  hard-mouthed  as  Satan  ;  so  that 
the  beast,  in  the  next  street,  went  off  with  me  ;  and  this  in 
truth  —  only  at  a  walk.  No  pulling,  no  tugging,  took 
effect ;  I,  at  last,  on  the  back  of  this  Self-riding-horse,  made 
signals  of  distress,  and  cried  :  "  Stop  him,  good  people,  for 
God's  sake  stop  him,  my  horse  is  off!  "  But  these  simple 
persons  seeing  the  beast  move  along  as  slowly  as  a  Reichs- 
hofrath  law-suit,  or  the  Daily   Postwagen,  could  not  in  the 

34.  Women  are  like  precious  carved  works  of  ivory  ;  nothing  is 
whiter  and  smoother,  and  nothing  sooner  grows  yellow. 


155 

least  understand  the  matter,  till  I  cried  as  if  possessed  : 
"  Stop  him  then,  ye  blockheads  and  joltheads ;  don't  you 
see  that  I  cannot  hold  the  nag?  "  But  now,  to  these  noo- 
dles the  sight  of  a  hard-mouthed  horse  going  off  with  its 
rider  step  by  step  seemed  ridiculous  rather  than  otherwise  ; 
half  Vienna  gathered  itself  like  a  comet-tail  behind  my 
beast  and  me.  Prince  Kaunitz,  the  best  horseman  of  the 
century  (the  last),  pulled  up  to  follow  me.  I  myself  sat  and 
swam  like  a  perpendicular  piece  of  drift-ice  on  my  honey- 
colored  nag,  which  stalked  on,  on,  step  by  step  ;  a  many- 
cornered,  red-coated  letter-carrier  was  delivering  his  letters, 
to  the  right  and  left,  in  the  various  stories,  and  he  still 
crossed  over  before  me  again,  with  satirical  features,  be- 
cause the  nag  went  along  too  slowly.  The  Schwanzschleu- 
derer,  or  Train-dasher  (the  person,  as  you  know,  who 
drives  along  the  streets  with  a  huge  barrel  of  water,  and 
besplashes  them  with  a  leathern  pipe  of  three  ells  long  from 
an  iron  trough),  came  across  the  haunches  of  my  horse, 
and,  in  the  course  of  his  duty,  wetted  both  these  and  my- 
self in  a  very  cooling  manner,  though,  for  my  part,  I  had 
too  much  cold  sweat  on  me  already,  to  need  any  fresh 
refrigeration.  On  my  infernal  Trojan  Horse  (only  I  myself 
was  Troy,  not  beridden  but  riding  to  destruction),  I  arrived 
at  Malzlein  (a  suburb  of  Vienna),  or  perhaps,  so  confused 
were  my  senses,  it  might  be  quite  another  range  of  streets. 
At  last,  late  in  the  dusk,  I  had  to  turn  into  the  Prater ;  and 
here,  long  after  the  Evening  Gun,  to  my  horror,  and  quite 
against  the  police-rules,  keep  riding  to  and  fro  on  my  honey- 
colored  nag  ;  and  possibly  I  might  even  have  passed  the 
night  on  him,  had   not  my  brother-in-law,   the  Dragoon,  ob- 

72.  The  Half-learned  is  adored  by  the  Quarter-learned  ;  the  latter 
by  the  Sixteenth-part-learned ;  and  so  on  ;  but  not  the  Whole- 
learned  by  the  Half-learned. 


156  RICHTER. 

served  my  plight,  and  so  found  me  still  sitting  firm  as  a 
rock  on  my  runaway  steed.  He  made  no  ceremonies  ; 
caught  the  brute ;  and  put  the  pleasant  question,  why  I 
had  not  vaulted,  and  come  off  by  ground-and-lofty  tumb- 
ling; though  he  knew  full  well  that  for  this  a  wooden- 
horse,  which  stands  still,  is  requisite.  However,  he  took  me 
down  ;  and  so,  after  all  this  riding,  horse  and  man  got 
home  with  whole  skins  and  unbroken  bones. 
But  now  at  last  to  my  Journey  ! 


Journey  to  Flatz. 

You  are  aware,  my  friends,  that  this  Journey  to  Flatz 
was  necessarily  to  take  place  in  Vacation  time ;  not  only 
because  the  Cattle-market,  and  consequently  the  Minister 
and  General  von  Schabacker,  was  there  then  ;  but  more 
especially  because  the  latter  (as  I  had  it  positively  from  a 
private  hand)  did  annually,  on  the  23d  of  July,  the  market- 
eve,  about  five  o'clock,  become  so  full  of  gaudium  and 
graciousness,  that  in  many  cases  he  did  not  so  much  snarl 
on  people,  as  listen  to  them,  and  grant  their  prayers.  The 
cause  of  this  gaudium  I  had  rather  not  trust  to  paper.  In 
short,  my  Petition,  praying  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  in- 
demnify and  reward  me,  as  an  unjustly  deposed  Army- 
chaplain,  by  a  Catechetical  Professorship,  could  plainly  be 
presented  to  him  at  no  better  season  than  exactly  about 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  first  dog-day.  In  less 
than  a  week  I  had  finished  writing  my  Petition.  As  I 
spared  neither  summaries  nor  copies  of  it,  I  had  soon  got  so 

35.  Bien  icouter  c'est  presque  rdpondre,  says  Marivaux  justly 
of  social  circles  ;  but  I  extend  it  to  round  Councillor-tables  and 
Cabinet-tables,  where  reports  are  made,  and  the  Prince  listens. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.     157 

far  as  to  see  the  relatively  best  lying  completed  before  me  ; 
when,  to  my  terror,  I  observed  that  in  this  paper  I  had 
introduced  above  thirty  dashes,  or  breaks,  in  the  middle  of 
my  sentences  !  Nowadays,  alas,  these  stings  shoot  forth  in- 
voluntarily from  learned  pens,  as  tails  of  wasps.  I  debated 
long  within  myself  whether  a  private  scholar  could  justly 
be  entitled  to  approach  a  minister  with  dashes,  —  greatly  as 
this  level  interlineation  of  thoughts,  these  horizontal  note- 
marks  of  poetical  mimc-pieces,  and  these  rope-ladders  or 
Achilles'-tendons  of  philosophical  see-pieces,  are  at  present 
fashionable  and  indispensable  ;  but,  at  last,  I  was  obliged 
(as  erasures  may  offend  people  of  quality)  to  write  my  best 
proof-petition  over  again  ;  and  then  to  afflict  myself  for 
another  quarter  of  an  hour  over  the  name  Attila  Schmelzle, 
seeing  it  is  always  my  principle  that  this  and  the  address  of 
the  letter,  the  two  cardinal  points  of  the  whole,  can  never 
be  written  legibly  enough. 


First  Stage ;  from  Neusattel  to  Vierstadten. 

The  22d  of  July,  or  Wednesday,  about  five  in  the  after- 
noon, was  now,  by  the  way-bill  of  the  regular  Post-coach, 
irrevocably  fixed  for  my  departure.  I  had  still  half  a  day 
to  order  my  house  ;  from  which,  for  two  nights  and  two 
days  and  a  half,  my  breast,  its  breast-work  and  palisado, 
was  now,  along  with  my  Self,  to  be  withdrawn.  Besides 
this,  my  good  wife  Bergelchen,  as  I  call  my  Teutoberga, 
was  immediately  to  travel  after  me,  on  Friday  the  24th,  in 
order  to  see  and  to  make  purchases  at  the  yearly  Fair  ;  nay, 


17.  The  Bed  of  Honor,  since  so  frequently  whole  regiments  lie 
on  it,  and  receive  their  last  unction,  and  last  honor  but  one,  really 
ought  from  time  to  time  be  new-filled,  beaten,  and  sunned. 

VOL.  II.*  14 


158  RICHTER. 

she  was  ready  to  have  gone  along  with  me,  the  faithful 
spouse.  I  therefore  assembled  my  little  knot  of  domestics, 
and  promulgated  to  them  the  Household  Law  and  Valedic- 
tory Rescript,  which,  after  my  departure,  in  the  first  place 
before  the  outset  of  my  wife,  and  in  the  second  place 
after  this  outset,  they  had  rigorously  to  obey  ;  explaining 
to  them  especially  whatever,  in  case  of  conflagrations,  house- 
breakings, thunder-storms,  or  transits  of  troops,  it  would 
behove  them  to  do.  To  my  wife  I  delivered  an  inventory 
of  the  best  goods  in  our  little  Registership  ;  which  goods 
she,  in  case  the  house  took  fire,  had,  in  the  first  place,  to 
secure.  I  ordered  her  in  stormy  nights  (the  peculiar  thief- 
weather)  to  put  our  Eolian  harp  in  the  window,  that  so  any 
villanous  prowler  might  imagine  I  was  fantasying  on  my 
instrument,  and  therefore  awake  ;  for  like  reasons,  also,  to 
take  the  house-dog  within  doors  by  day,  that  he  might  sleep 
then,  and  so  be  livelier  at  night.  I  farther  counselled  her  to 
have  an  eye  on  the  focus  of  every  knot  in  the  panes  of  the 
stable-window,  nay,  on  every  glass  of  water  she  might 
set  down  in  the  house  ;  as  I  had  already  often  recounted 
to  her  examples  of  such  accidental  burning-glasses  hav- 
ing set  whole  buildings  in  flames.  I  then  appointed 
her  the  hour  when  she  was  to  set  out  on  Friday  morn- 
ing to  follow  me ;  and  recapitulated  more  emphatically 
the  household  precepts  which,  prior  to  her  departure, 
she  must  afresh  inculcate  on  her  domestics.  My  dear, 
heart-sound,  blooming  Berga  answered  her  faithful  lord, 
as  it  seemed  very  seriously:  "Go  thy  ways,  little  old 
one  ;  it  shall  all  be  done  as  smooth  as  velvet.  Wert  thou 
but  away !  There  is  no  end  of  thee  !  "  Her  brother,  my 
brother-in-law,  the  Dragoon,  for  whom,  out  of  complaisance, 

120.  Many  a  one  becomes  a  free-spoken  Diogenes,  not   when  he 
dwells  in  the  Cask,  but  when  the  Cask  dwells  in  him. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  159 

I  had  paid  the  coach-fare,  in  order  to  have  in  the  vehicle 
along  with  me  a  stout  swordsman  and  hector,  as  spiritual 
relative  and  bully-rock,  so  to  speak;  the  Dragoon,  I  say,  on 
hearing  these  my  regulations,  puckered  up  (which  I  easily 
forgave  the  wild  soldier  and  bachelor)  his  sun-burnt  face 
considerably  into  ridicule,  and  said  :  "  Were  I  in  thy  place, 
sister,  I  should  do  what  I  liked,  and  then  afterwards  take  a 
peep  into  these  regulation  papers  of  his." 

"  Oh  !  "  answered  I,  "  misfortune  may  conceal  itself  like 
a  scorpion  in  any  corner  ;  I  might  say,  we  are  like  children, 
who,  looking  at  their  gaily  painted  toy-box,  soon  pull  off 
the  lid,  and,  pop  !  out  springs  a  mouse  who  has  young  ones.11 

"  Mouse,  mouse  !  "  said  he,  stepping  up  and  down.  "  But, 
good  brother,  it  is  five  o'clock;  and  you  will  find,  when  you 
return,  that  all  looks  exactly  as  it  does  to-day;  the  dog  like 
the  dog,  and  my  sister  like  a  pretty  woman  ;  allons  done  !  " 
It  was  purely  his  blame  that  I,  fearing  his  misconceptions, 
had  not  previously  made  a  sort  of  testament. 

I  now  packed  in  two  different  sorts  of  medicines,  heating 
as  well  as  cooling,  against  two  different  possibilities  ;  also 
my  old  splints  for  arm  or  leg  breakages,  in  case  the  coach 
overset;  and  (out  of  foresight)  two  times  the  money  I  was 
likely  to  need.  Only  here  I  could  have  wished,  so  uncertain 
is  the  stowage  of  such  things,  that  I  had  been  an  Ape  with 
cheek-pouches,  or  some  sort  of  Opossum  with  a  natural 
bag,  that  so  I  might  have  reposited  these  necessaries  of 
existence  in  pockets  which  were  sensitive.  Shaving  is  a 
task  I  always  go  through  before  setting  out  on  journeys  ; 
having  a  rational  mistrust  against  stranger  blood-thirsty 
barbers  ;  but,  on  this  occasion,  I  retained  my  beard  ;  since, 
however  close  shaved,  it  would   have  grown   again  by  the 

3.  Culture  makes  whole  lands,  for  instance  Germany,  Gaul,  and 
others,  physically  warmer,  but  spiritually  colder. 


160 


RICHTER. 


road  to  such  a  length  that  I  could  have  fronted  no  Minister 
and  General  with  it. 

With  a  vehement  emotion,  I  threw  myself  on  the  pith- 
heart  of  my  Berga,  and  with  a  still  more  vehement  one,  tore 
myself  away  ;  in  her,  however,  this  our  first  marriage-sep- 
aration seemed  to  produce  less  lamentation  than  triumph, 
less  consternation  than  rejoicing  ;  simply  because  she  turned 
her  eye  not  half  so  much  on  the  parting,  as  on  the  meeting, 
and  the  journey  after  me,  and  the  wonders  of  the  Fair. 
Yet  she  threw  and  hung  herself  on  my  somewhat  long  and 
thin  neck  and  body,  almost  painfully,  being,  indeed,  a  too 
fleshy  and  weighty  load,  and  said  to  me  :  "  Whisk  thee  off 
quick,  my  charming  Attel  (Attila),  and  trouble  thy  head 
with  no  cares  by  the  way,  thou  singular  man  !  A  whiff  or 
two  of  ill  luck  we  can  stand,  by  God's  help,  so  long  as  my 
father  is  no  beggar.  And  for  thee,  Franz,"  continued  she, 
turning  with  some  heat  to  her  brother,  "  I  leave  my  Attel 
on  thy  soul;  thou  well  knowest,  thou  wild  fly,  what  I  will 
do,  if  thou  play  the  fool,  and  leave  him  anywhere  in  the 
lurch."  Her  meaning  here  was  good,  and  I  could  not  take 
it  ill ;  to  you  also,  my  Friends,  her  wealth  and  her  open- 
heartedness  are  nothing  new. 

Melted  into  sensibility,  I  said  :  "  Now,  Berga,  if  there  be 
a  reunion  appointed  for  us,  surely  it  is  either  in  Heaven  or 
in  Flatz ;  and  I  hope  in  God,  the  latter."  With  these  words, 
we  whirled  stoutly  away.  I  looked  round  through  the  back- 
window  of  the  coach  at  my  good  little  village  of  Neusattel, 
and  it  seemed  to  me,  in  my  melting  mood,  as  if  its  steeples 
were  rising  aloft  like  an  epitaphium  over  my  life,  or  over 
my  body,  perhaps  to  return  a  lifeless  corpse.  "  How  will 
it  all  be,"  thought  I,  "  when  thou  at  last,  after  two  or  three 

1.  The  more  Weakness  the  more  Lying.  Force  goes  straight; 
any  cannon-ball  with  holes  or  cavities  in  it  goes  crooked. 


SCHMELZLE  S    JOURNEY    TO    FLAETZ. 


161 


days,  comest  back  ?  "  And  now  I  noticed  my  Bergelchen 
looking  after  us  from  the  garret-window.  I  leaned  far  out 
from  the  coach-door,  and  her  falcon  eye  instantly  distin- 
guished my  head  ;  kiss  on  kiss  she  threw  with  both  hands 
after  the  carriage,  as  it  rolled  down  into  the  valley.  "  Thou 
true-hearted  wife,"  thought  I,  "  how  is  thy  lowly  birth,  by 
thy  spiritual  new-birth,  made  forgetable,  nay,  remarkable  !." 
I  must  confess,  the  assemblage  and  conversational  picnic 
of  the  stagecoach  was  much  less  to  my  taste ;  the  whole  of 
them  suspicious,  unknown  rabble,  whom  (as  markets  usually 
do)  the  Flatz  cattle-market  was  alluring  by  its  scent.  I 
dislike  becoming  acquainted  with  strangers ;  not  so  my 
brother-in-law,  the  Dragoon  ;  who  now,  as  he  always  does, 
had  in  a  few  minutes  elbowed  himself  into  close  quarters 
with  the  whole  ragamuffin  posse  of  them.  Beside  me  sat  a 
person,  who,  in  all  human  probability,  was  a  Harlot  ;  on  her 
breast  a  Dwarf  intending  to  exhibit  himself  at  the  Fair  ; 
on  the  other  side  was  a  Ratcatcher  gazing  at  me ;  and  a 
Blind  Passenger,*  in  a  red  mantle,  had  joined  us  down  in 
the  valley.  No  one  of  them,  except  my  brother-in-law, 
pleased  me.  That  rascals  among  these  people  would  not 
study  me  and  my  properties  and  accidents,  to  entangle  me 
in  their  snares,  no  man  could  be  my  surety.  In  strange 
places,  I  even,  out  of  prudence,  avoid  looking  long  up  at 
any  jail-window  ;  because  some  losel,  sitting  behind  the  bars, 
may  in  a  moment  call  down  out  of  mere  malice  :  "  How 
goes  it,  comrade  Schmelzle  ?  "  or  farther,  because  any  lurk- 
ing catchpole  may  fancy  I  am  planning  a  rescue  for  some 

88.  Epictetus  advises  us  to  travel,  hecause  our  old  acquaintances 
by  the  influence  of  shame  impede  our  transition  to  higher  virtues  ; 
as  a  bashful  man  will  rather  lay  aside  his  provincial  accent  in   some 

*  Passenger  so  placed  in  the  huge  German  Postwagen,  that  he 
cannot  look  out.  —  Ed. 

14* 


162 


RICHTER. 


confederate  above.  From  another  sort  of  prudence,  little 
different  from  this,  I  also  make  a  point  of  never  turning 
round  when  any  booby  calls,  Thief!  after  me. 

As  to  the  Dwarf  himself,  I  had  no  objection  to  his  travel- 
ling with  me  whithersoever  he  pleased  ;  but  he  thought  to 
raise  a  particular  delectation  in  our  minds,  by  promising 
that  his  Pollux  and  Brother  in  Trade,  an  extraordinary  Giant 
who  was  also  making  for  the  Fair  to  exhibit  himself,  would 
by  midnight,  with  his  elephantine  pace,  infallibly  overtake 
the  coach,  and  plant  himself  among  us,  or  behind  on  the 
outside.  Both  these  noodles,  it  appeared,  are  in  the  habit 
of  going  in  company  to  fairs,  as  reciprocal  exaggerators  of 
opposite  magnitudes :  the  Dwarf  is  the  convex  magnifying- 
glass  of  the  Giant,  the  Giant  the  concave  diminishing-glass 
of  the  Dwarf.  Nobody  expressed  much  joy  at  the  prospec- 
tive arrival  of  this  Anti-dwarf,  except  my  brother-in-law, 
who  (if  I  may  venture  on  a  play  of  words)  seems  made, 
like  a  clock,  solely  for  the  purpose  of  striking,  and  once 
actually  said  to  me,  that  "  if  in  the  Upper  world  he  could 
not  get  a  soul  to  curry  and  towzle  by  a  time,  he  would 
rather  go  to  the  Under,  where  most  probably  there  would 
be  plenty  of  cuffing  and  to  spare."  The  Ratcatcher  —  be- 
sides the  circumstance  that  no  man  can  prepossess  us  much 
in  his  favor,  who  lives  solely  by  poisoning,  like  this  De- 
stroying Angel  of  rats,  this  mouse-Atropos  ;  and  also,  which 
is  still  worse,  that  such  a  fellow  bids  fair  to  become  an  in- 
creaser  of  the  vermin  kingdom,  the  moment  he  may  cease 
to  be  a  lessener  of  it  —  besides  all  this,  I  say,  the  present 
Ratcatcher  had  many  baneful  features  about  him     First,  his 


foreign  quarter,  and  then  return  wholly  purified  to  his  own  country- 
men. In  our  days,  people  of  rank  and  virtue  follow  this  advice, 
but  inversely  ;  and  travel  because  their  old  acquaintances,  by  the 
influence  of  shame,  would  too  much  deter  them  from  new  sins. 


163 

stabbing  look,  piercing  you  like  a  stiletto ;  then  the  lean, 
sharp,  bony  visage,  conjoined  with  his  enumeration  of  his 
considerable  stock  of  poisons ;  then  (for  I  hated  him  more 
and  more)  his  sly  stillness,  his  sly  smile,  as  if  in  some  cor- 
ner he  noticed  a  mouse,  as  he  would  notice  a  man !  To  me, 
I  declare,  though  usually  I  lake  not  the  slightest  exception 
against  people's  looks,  it  seemed  at  last  as  if  his  throat  were 
a  Dog-grotto,  a  Grotta  del  cane,  his  cheek-bones  cliffs  and 
breakers,  his  hot  breath  the  wind  of  a  calcining  furnace, 
and  his  black,  hairy  breast  a  kiln  for  parching  and  roast- 
ing. 

Nor  was  I  far  wrong,  I  believe ;  for  soon  after  this,  he 
began  quite  coolly  to  inform  the  company,  in  which  were  a 
dwarf  and  a  female,  that,  in  his  time,  he  had,  not  without 
enjoyment,  run  ten  men  through  the  body  ;  had  with  great 
convenience  hewed  off  a  dozen  men's  arms  ;  slowly  split 
four  heads,  torn  out  two  hearts,  and  more  of  the  like  sort; 
while  none  of  them,  otherwise  persons  of  spirit,  had  in  the 
least  resisted.  "  But  why  ?  "  added  he  with  a  poisonous 
smile,  and  taking  the  hat  from  his  odious  baldpate  ;  "  I  am 
invulnerable.  Let  any  one  of  the  company  that  chooses  lay 
as  much  fire  on  my  bare  crown  as  he  likes,  I  shall  not 
mind  it." 

My  brother-in-law,  the  Dragoon,  directly  kindled  his 
tinder-box,  and  put  a  heap  of  the  burning  matter  on  the 
Ratcatcher's  pole  ;  but  the  fellow  stood  it,  as  if  it  had  been 
a  mere  picture  of  fire,  and  the  two  looked  expectingly  at 
one  another ;  and  the  former  smiled  very  foolishly,  saying  : 
"  It  was   simply  pleasant   to  him,  like   a  good    warming- 

32.  Our  Age  (by  some  called  the  Paper  Age,  as  if  it  were  made 
from  the  rags  of  some  better  dressed  one)  is  improving  in  so  far  as 
it  now  tears  its  rags  rather  into  Bandages  than  into  Papers  ;  although, 
or  because,  the  Rag-hacker  (the  Devil  as  they  call  it)  will  not  alto- 


164  RICHTER. 

plaster ;    for   this   was   always    the    wintry  region   of    his 
body." 

Here  the  Dragoon  groped  a  little  on  the  naked  scull,  and 
cried  with  amazement,  that  "  it  was  as  cold  as  a  knee-pan." 

But  now  the  fellow,  to  our  horror,  after  some  preparations, 
actually  lifted  off  the  quarter-scull  and  held  it  out  to  us, 
saying  :  "  He  had  sawed  it  off  a  murderer,  his  own  having 
accidentally  been  broken  ;"  and  withal  explained,  that  the 
stabbing  and  arm-cutting  he  had  talked  of  was  to  be  under- 
stood as  a  jest,  seeing  he  had  merely  done  it  in  the  char- 
acter of  Famulus  at  an  Anatomical  Theatre.  However  the 
jester  seemed  to  rise  little  in  favor  with  any  of  us  ;  and  for 
my  part,  as  he  put  his  brain-lid  and  sham-scull  on  again,  I 
thought  to  myself:  "  This  dungbed-bell  has  changed  its  place, 
indeed,  but  not  the  hemlock  it  was  made  to  cover." 

Farther,  I  could  not  but  reckon  it  a  suspicious  circum- 
stance, that  he  as  well  as  all  the  company  (the  Blind  Pas- 
senger too)  were  making  for  this  very  Flatz,  to  which  I 
myself  was  bound.  Much  good  I  could  not  expect  of  this  ; 
and,  in  truth,  turning  home  again  would  have  been  as  pleas- 
ant to  me  as  going  on,  had  I  not  rather  felt  a  pleasure  in 
defying  the  future. 

I  come  now  to  the  red-mantled  Blind  Passenger;  most 
probably  an  Emigre  or  Refugie ;  for  he  speaks  German 
not  worse  than  he  does  French  ;  and  his  name,  I  think, 
was  Jean  Pierre  or  Jean  Paul,  or  some  such  thing,  if 
indeed  he  had  any  name.  His  red  cloak,  notwithstanding 
this  his  identity  of  color  with  the  Hangman,  would  in  itself 
have  remained  heartily  indifferent  to  me  ;  had  it  not  been 
for    this    singular   circumstance,   that   he   had   already   five 

gether  be  at  rest.  Meanwhile,  if  Learned  Heads  transform  them- 
selves into  Books,  Crowned  Heads  transform  and  coin  themselves 
into  Government-paper.  In  Norway,  according  to  the  Universal 
Indicator,  the  people   have  even  paper-houses;  and  in  many  good 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  165 

times,  contrary  to  all  expectation,  come  upon  me  in  five 
different  towns  (in  great  Berlin,  in  little  Hof,  in  Coburg, 
Meiningen,  and  Bayreuth),  and,  each  of  these  times,  had 
looked  at  me  significantly  enough,  and  then  gone  his  ways. 
Whether  this  Jean  Pierre  is  dogging  me  with  hostile  intent 
or  not,  I  cannot  say  ;  but  to  our  fancy,  at  any  rate,  no  ob- 
ject can  be  gratifying  that  thus,  with  corps  of  observation, 
or  out  of  loop-holes,  holds  and  aims  at  us  with  muskets, 
which  for  year  after  year  it  shall  move  to  this  side  and  that, 
without  our  knowing  on  whom  it  is  to  fire.  Still  more 
offensive  did  Redcloak  become  to  me,  when  he  began  to 
talk  about  his  soft  mildness  of  soul  ;  a  thing  which  seemed 
either  to  betoken  pumping  you  or  undermining  you. 

I  replied  :  "Sir,  I  am  just  come,  with  my  brother-in-law 
here,  from  the  field  of  battle  (the  last  affair  was  at  Pimpel- 
stadt),  and  so  perhaps  am  too  much  of  a  humor  for  fire, 
pluck,  and  war-fury  ;  and  to  many  a  one,  who  happens  to 
have  a  roaring  waterspout  of  a  heart,  it  may  be  well  if 
his  clerical  character  (which  is  mine)  rather  enjoins  on  him 
mildness  than  wildness.  However,  all  mildness  has  its 
iron  limit.  If  any  thoughtless  dog  chance  to  anger  me,  in 
the  first  heat  of  rage  I  kick  my  foot  through  him  ;  and  after 
me,  my  good  brother  here  will  perhaps  drive  matters  twice 
as  far,  for  he  is  the  man  to  do  it.  Perhaps  it  may  be 
singular  ;  but  I  confess,  I  regret  to  this  day,  that  once  when 
a  boy  I  received  three  blows  from  another,  without  tightly 
returning  them  ;  and  I  often  feel  as  if  I  must  still  pay  them 
to  his  descendants.  In  sooth,  if  I  but  chance  to  see  a  child 
running  off  like  a  dastard  from  the  weak  attack  of  a  child 
like  himself,  I  cannot  for  my  life   understand   his  running, 

German  States,  the  Exchequer  Collegium  (to  say  nothing  of  the 
Justice  Collegium)  keeps  its  own  paper-mills,  to  furnish  wrappage 
enough  for  the  meal  of  its  wind-mills.  I  could  wish,  however,  that 
our  Collegiums  would  take  pattern  from  that  Glass  Manufactory  at 


166 


RICHTER. 


and  can  scarcely  keep  from  interfering  to  save  him  by  a 
decisive  knock." 

The  Passenger  meanwhile  was  smiling,  not  in  the  best 
fashion.  He  gave  himself  out  for  a  Legations-Rath,  and 
seemed  fox  enough  for  such  a  post ;  but  a  mad  fox  will,  in 
the  long  run,  bite  me  as  rabidly  as  a  mad  wolf  will.  For 
the  rest,  I  calmly  went  on  with  my  eulogy  on  courage  ; 
only  that,  instead  of  ludicrous  gasconading,  which  directly 
betrays  the  coward,  I  purposely  expressed  myself  in  words 
at  once  cool,  clear,  and  firm. 

"  I  am  altogether  for  Montaigne's  advice,"  said  I :  **.«  Fear 
nothing  but  fear.'  " 

"I  again,"  replied  the  Legations-man,  with  useless  wire- 
drawing, "I  should  fear  again  that  I  did  not  sufficiently  fear 
fear,  but  continued  too  dastardly." 

"  To  this  fear  also,"  replied  I  coldly,  "  I  set  limits.  A 
man,  for  instance,  may  not  in  the  least  believe  in  or  be 
afraid  of  ghosts  ;  and  yet  by  night  may  bathe  himself  in 
cold  sweat,  and  this  purely  out  of  terror  at  the  dreadful 
fright  he  should  be  in  (especially  with  what  whiffs  of  epilep- 
sies, falling-sicknesses,  and  so  forth,  he  might  be  visited),  in 
case  simply  his  own  too  vivid  fancy  should  create  any  wild 
fever-image,  and  hang  it  up  in  the  air  before  him." 

"  One  should  not,  therefore,"  added  my  brother-in-law 
the  Dragoon,  contrary  to  his  custom,  moralizing  a  little, 
"one  should  not  bamboozle  the  poor  sheep,  man,  with  any 
ghost-tricks;  the  henheart  may  die  on  the  spot." 

A  loud  storm  of  thunder  overtaking  the  stagecoach 
altered  the  discourse.     You,  my  Friends,  knowing  me  as  a 

Madrid,  in  which  (according  to  Baumgfirtner)  there  were  indeed 
nineteen  clerks  stationed,  but  also  eleven  workmen. 

2.  In  his  Prince,  a  soldier  reverences  and  obeys  at  once  his  Prince 
and  his  Generalissimo;  a  Citizen  only  his  Prince. 


167 

man  not  quite  destitute  of  some  tincture  of  Natural  Philo- 
sophy, will  easily  guess  my  precautions  against  thunder.  I 
place  myself  on  a  chair  in  the  middle  of  the  room  (often, 
when  suspicious  clouds  are  out,  I  stay  whole  nights  on  it), 
and  by  careful  removal  of  all  conductors,  rings,  buckles, 
and  so  forth,  I  here  sit  thunder-proof,  and  listen  with  a  cool 
spirit  to  this  elemental  music  of  the  cloud-kettledrum.  These 
precautions  have  never  harmed  me,  for  I  am  still  alive  at 
this  date  ;  and  to  the  present  hour  I  congratulate  myself  on 
once  hurrying  out  of  church,  though  I  had  confessed  but 
the  day  previous;  and  running,  without  more  ceremony, 
and  before  I  had  received  the  sacrament,  into  the  charnel- 
house,  because  a  heavy  thunder-cloud  (which  did,  in  fact, 
strike  the  churchyard  lindentree)  was  hovering  over  it.  So 
soon  as  the  cloud  had  disloaded  itself,  I  returned  from  the 
charnel-house  into  the  church,  and  was  happy  enough  to 
come  in  after  the  Hangman  (usually  the  last),  and  so  still 
participate  in  the  Feast  of  Love. 

Such,  for  my  own  part,  is  my  manner  of  proceeding ; 
but  in  the  full  stagecoach  I  met  with  men  to  whom  Natural 
Philosophy  was  no  philosophy  at  all.  For  when  the  clouds 
gathered  dreadfully  together  over  our  coach-canopy,  and 
sparkling,  began  to  play  through  the  air,  like  so  many  fire-flies, 
and  I  at  last  could  not  but  request  that  the  sweating  coach- 
conclave  would  at  least  bring  out  their  watches,  rings,  money, 
and  such  like,  and  put  them  all  into  one  of  the  carriage- 
pockets,  that  none  of  us  might  have  a  conductor  on  his 
body  ;  not  only  would  no  one  of  them  do  it ;  but  my  own 

45.  Our  present  writers  shrug  their  shoulders  most  at  those  on 
whose  shoulders  they  stand;  and  exalt  those  most  who  crawl  up 
along  them. 

103.  The  Great  perhaps  take  as  good  charge  of  their  posterity  as 
the  Ants;  the  eggs  once  laid,  the  male  and  female  Ants  fly  about 
their  business,  and  confide  them  to  the  trusty  working-Ants. 


168  RICHTER. 

brother-in-law  the  Dragoon  even  sprang  out,  with  naked 
drawn  sword,  to  the  coach-box,  and  swore  that  he  would 
conduct  the  thunder  all  away  himself.  Nor  do  I  know 
whether  this  desperate  mortal  was  not  acting  prudently  ;  for 
our  position  within  was  frightful,  and  any  one  of  us  might 
every  moment  be  a  dead  man.  At  last,  to  crown  all,  I  got 
into  a  half  altercation  with  two  of  the  rude  members  of  our 
leathern  household,  the  Poisoner  and  the  Harlot ;  seeing,  by 
their  questions,  they  almost  gave  me  to  understand,  that,  in 
our  conversational  picnic,  especially  with  the  Blind  Passen- 
ger, I  had  not  always  come  off  with  the  best  share.  Such 
an  imputation  wounds  your  honor  to  the  quick;  and  in  my 
breast  there  was  a  thunder  louder  than  that  above  us.  How- 
ever, I  was  obliged  to  carry  on  the  needful  exchange  of 
sharp  words  as  quietly  and  slowly  as  possible  ;  and  I  quar- 
relled softly,  and  in  a  low  tone,  lest  in  the  end  a  whole 
coachful  of  people,  set  in  arms  against  each  other,  might  get 
into  heat  and  perspiration ;  and  so,  by  vapor  steaming 
through  the  coachroof,  conduct  the  too  near  thunderbolt 
down  into  the  midst  of  us.  At  last  I  laid  before  the  com- 
pany the  whole  theory  of  Electricity  in  clear  words,  but 
low  and  slow  (striving  to  avoid  all  emission  of  vapor)  ;  and 
especially  endeavored  to  frighten  them  away  from  fear. 
For,  indeed,  through  fear,  the  stroke  —  nay,  two  strokes, 
the  electric  or  the  apoplectic  —  might  hit  anyone  of  us; 
since  in  Erxleben  and  Reimarus  it  is  sufficiently  proved 
that  violent  fear,  by  the  transpiration  it  causes,  may  attract 
the  lightning.  I  accordingly,  in  some  fear  of  my  own  and 
other  people's  fear,  represented  to  the  passengers  that  now, 
in  a  coach   so  hot.  and  crowded,  with  a  drawn  sword  on  the 

10.  And  does  Life  offer  us,  in  regard  to  our  ideal  hopes  and 
purposes,  anything  but  a  prosaic,  unrhymed,  unmetrical  Transla- 
tion ? 


169 

coachbox  piercing  the  very  lightning,  with  the  thunder- 
cloud hanging  over  us,  and  even  with  so  many  transpirations 
from  incipient  fear ;  in  short,  with  such  visible  danger  on 
every  hand,  they  must  absolutely  fear  nothing,  if  they 
would  not,  all  and  sundry,  be  smitten  to  death  in  a  few 
minutes. 

"  O  Heaven!  "  cried  I,  "Courage!  only  courage!  No 
fear,  not  even  fear  of  fear  !  Would  you  have  Providence 
to  shoot  you  here  sitting,  like  so  many  hares  hunted  into  a 
pinfold  ?  Fear,  if  you  like,  when  you  are  out  of  the  coach  ; 
fear  to  your  heart's  content  in  other  places,  where  there  is 
less  to  be  afraid  of;  only  not  here,  not  here  ! " 

I  shall  not  determine  —  since  among  millions  scarcely 
one  man  dies  by  thunder-clouds,  but  millions  perhaps  by 
snow-clouds,  and  rain-clouds,  and  thin  mist — whether 
my  Coach-sermon  could  have  made  any  claim  to  a  prize 
for  man-saving;  however,  at  last,  all  uninjured,  and  driving 
towards  a  rainbow,  we  entered  the  town  of  Vierstadten, 
where  dwelt  a  Postmaster,  in  the  only  street  which  the  place 
had. 


Second  Stage ;  from  Vierstadten  to  Niederschona. 

The  Postmaster  was  a  churl  and  a  striker  ;  a  class  of 
mortals  whom  I  inexpressibly  detest,  as  my  fancy  always 
whispers  to  me,  in  their  presence,  that  by  accident  or  dis- 
like I  might  happen  to  put  on  a  scornful   or   impertinent 

78.  Our  German  frame  of  Government,  cased  in  its  harness, 
had  much  difficulty  in  moving,  for  the  same  reason  why  Beetles 
cannot  fly,  when  their  wings  have  wing-shells,  of  very  sufficient 
strength,  and  —  grown  together. 

8.  Constitutions  of  Government  are  like  highways  ;  on  a  new 
and  quite  untrodden  one,   where   every  carriage   helps  in  the  pro- 

VOL.  II.  15 


170  RICHTER. 

look,  and  hound  these  mastiffs  on  my  own  throat ;  and  so, 
from  the  very  first,  I  must  incessantly  watch  them.  Hap- 
pily, in  this  case  (supposing  I  even  had  made  a  wrong 
face),  I  could  have  shielded  myself  with  the  Dragoon  ;  for 
whose  giant  force  such  matters  are  a  tidbit.  This  brother- 
in-law  of  mine,  for  example,  cannot  pass  any  tavern  where 
he  hears  a  sound  of  battle,  without  entering,  and,  as  he 
crosses  the  threshold,  shouting:  "Peace,  dogs!" — and 
therewith,  under  show  of  a  peace  deputation,  he  directly 
snatches  up  the  first  chair-leg  in  his  hand,  as  if  it  were  an 
American  peace-calumet,  and  cuts  to  the  right  and  left 
among  the  belligerent  powers,  or  he  gnashes  the  hard  heads 
of  the  parties  together  (he  himself  takes  no  side),  catching 
each  by  the  hind-lock.  In  such  cases  the  rogue  is  in 
Heaven  ! 

I,  for  my  part,  rather  avoid  discrepant  circles  than  seek 
them  ;  as  I  likewise  avoid  all  dead  or  killed  people.  The 
prudent  man  easily  foresees  what  is  to  be  got  by  them  ; 
either  vexatious  and  injurious  witnessing,  or  often  even 
(when  circumstances  conspire)  painful  investigation,  and 
suspicions  of  your  being  an  accomplice. 

In  Vierstadten  nothing  of  importance  presented  itself, 
except  —  to  my  horror  —  a  dog  without  tail,  which  came 
running  along  the  town  or  street.  In  the  first  fire  of  pas- 
sion at  this  sight,  I  pointed  it  out  to  the  passengers,  and  then 
put  the  question,  whether  they  could  reckon  a  system  of 
Medical  Police  well  arranged,  which,  like  this  of  Vierstad:en, 
allowed  dogs  openly  to  scour  about,   when  their  tails  were 


cess  of  bruising  and  smoothing,  you  are  as  much  jolted  and  pitched, 
as  on  an  old  worn-out  one,  full  of  holes.  What  is  to  be  done  then  ? 
Travel  on. 

3.  In  Criminal  Courts,  murdered  children  are  often  represented 
as  still-born  ;  in  Anticritiques,  still-born  as  murdered. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  171 

wanting.  u  What  am  I  to  do,"  said  I,  "  when  this  mem- 
ber is  cut  away,  and  any  such  beast  conies  running  towards 
me,  and  I  cannot,  either  by  the  tail  being  cocked  up  or 
being  drawn  in,  since  the  whole  is  snipt  off,  come  to  any 
conclusion  whether  the  vermin  is  mad  or  not?  In  this 
way,  the  most  prudent  man  may  be  bit,  and  become  rabid, 
and  so  make  shipwreck  purely  for  want  of  a  tail-compass." 

The  blind  Passenger  (he  now  got  himself  inscribed  as  a 
Seeing  one,  God  knows  for  what  objects)  had  heard  my  ob- 
servation; which  he  now  spun  out  in  my  presence  almost 
into  ridicule,  and  at  last  awakened  in  me  the  suspicion,  that, 
by  an  overdone  flattery  in  imitating  my  style  of  speech, 
he  meant  to  banter  me.  "  The  Dog-tail,"  said  he,  "  is,  in 
truth,  an  alarm-beacon,  and  finger-post  for  us,  that  we  come 
not  even  into  the  outmost  precincts  of  madness  ;  cut  away 
from  Comets  their  tails,  from  Bashaws  theirs,  from  Crabs 
theirs  (outstretched  it  denotes  that  they  are  burst)  ;  and  in 
the  most  dangerous  predicaments  of  life,  we  are  left  without 
clew,  without  indicator,  without  hand  in  margine  ;  and  we 
perish  not  so  much  as  knowing  how." 

For  the  rest,  this  stage  passed  over  without  quarrelling 
or  peril.  About  ten  o'clock,  the  whole  party,  including 
even  the  Postilion,  myself  excepted,  fell  asleep.  I  indeed 
pretended  to  be  sleeping,  that  I  might  observe  whether 
some  one,  for  his  own  good  reasons,  might  not  also  be 
pretending  it.  But  all  continued  snoring  ;  the  moon  threw 
its  brightening  beams  on  nothing  but  downpressed  eyelids. 

I  had  now  a  glorious  opportunity  of  following  Lavater's 
counsel,  to  apply  the  physiognomical  ellwand  specially  to 
sleepers,  since  sleep,  like  death,  expresses  the  genuine  form 


101.  Not  only  were  the  Rhodians,  from  their  Colossus,  called 
Colossians;  but  also  innumerable  Germans  are,  from  their  Luther, 
called  Lutherans. 


172  RICHTER. 

in  coarser  lines.  Other  sleepers  not  in  stagecoaches  I 
think  it  less  advisable  to  mete  with  this  ellwand  ;  having 
always  an  apprehension  lest  some  fellow,  but  pretending  to 
be  asleep,  may,  the  instant  I  am  near  enough,  start  up  as  in 
a  dream,  and  deceitfully  plant  such  a  knock  on  the  physio- 
gnomical mensurator's  own  facial  structure,  as  to  exclude  it 
forever  from  appearing  in  any  Physiognomical  Fragments 
(itself  being  reduced  to  one),  either  in  the  stippled  or  line 
style.  Nay,  might  not  the  most  honest  sleeper  in  the  world, 
just  while  you  are  in  hand  with  his  physiognomical  dissec- 
tion, lay  about  him,  spurred  on  by  honor  in  some  cudgelling- 
scene  he  may  be  dreaming;  and  in  a  few  instants  of  clap- 
perclawing, and  kicking,  and  trampling,  lull  you  into  a 
much  more  lasting  sleep  than  that  out  of  which  he  was 
awakened  ? 

In  my  Adumbrating  Magic-lantern,  as  I  have  named 
the  Work,  the  whole  physiognomical  contents  of  this  same 
sleeping  stagecoach  will  be  given  to  the  world.  There  I  shall 
explain  to  you  at  large  how  the  Poisoner,  with  the  murder- 
cupola,  appeared  to  me  devil-like  ;  the  Dwarf  old-child-like  ; 
the  Harlot  languidly  shameless ;  my  Brother-in-law  peace- 
fully satisfied,  with  revenge  or  food  ;  and  the  Legations- 
Rath,  Jean  Pierre,  Heaven  only  knows  why,  like  a  half 
angel, —  though,  perhaps,  it  might  be  because  only  the  fair 
body,  not  the  other  half,  the  soul,  which  had  passed  away  in 
sleep,  was  affecting  me. 

88.  Hitherto  I  have  always  regarded  the  Polemical  writings  of 
our  present  philosophic  and  aesthetic  Idealist  Logic-buffers,  —  in 
which,  certainly,  a  few  contumelies,  and  misconceptions,  and  mis- 
conclusions  do  make  their  appearance, —  rather  on  the  fair  side; 
observing  in  it  merely  an  imitation  of  classical  Antiquity,  in  par- 
ticular of  the  ancient  Athletes,  who  (according  to  Schottgen)  be- 
smeared their  bodies  with  mud,  that  they  might  not  be  laid  hold  of; 
and  filled  their  hands  with  sand,  that  they  might  lay  hold  of  their 
antagonists. 


SCHMELZLE  S    JOURNEY    TO    FLAETZ. 


173 


I  had  almost  forgotten  to  mention,  that,  in  a  little  village, 
while  my  Brother-in-law  and  the  Postilion  were  silting  at 
their  liquor,  I  happily  fronted  a  small  terror,  Destiny  having 
twice  been  on  my  side.  Not  far  from  a  Hunting  Box,  be- 
side a  pretty  clump  of  trees,  I  noticed  a  white  tablet,  with  a 
black  inscription  on  it.  This  gave  me  hopes  that  perhaps 
some  little  monumental  piece,  some  pillar  of  honor,  some 
battle  memento,  might  here  be  awaiting  me.  Over  an 
untrodden  flowery  tangle  I  reach  the  black  on  white  ;  and  to 
my  horror  and  amazement  I  decypher  in  the  moonshine, 
Beware  of  Spring- guns !  Thus  was  I  standing  perhaps 
half  a  nail's  breadth  from  the  trigger,  with  which,  if  I  but 
stirred  my  heel,  I  should  shoot  myself  off,  like  a  forgotten 
ramrod,  into  the  other  world,  beyond  the  verge  of  Time  ! 
The  first  thing  I  did  was  to  slutch  down  my  toe-nails,  to 
bite,  and,  as  it  were,  eat  myself  into  the  ground  with  them  ; 
since  I  might  at  least  continue  in  warm  life  so  long  as  I 
pegged  my  body  firmly  in  beside  the  Atropos-scissors  and 
hangman's  block,  which  lay  beside  me.  Then  I  endeavored 
to  recollect  by  what  steps  the  Fiend  had  led  me  hither  un- 
shot,  but  in  my  agony  I  had  perspired  the  whole  of  it,  and 
could  remember  nothing.  In  the  Devil's  village,  close  at 
hand,  there  was  no  dog  to  be  seen  and  called  to,  who  might 
have  plucked  me  from  the  water;  and  my  Brother-in-law 
and  the  Postilion  were  both  carousing  with  full  can.  How- 
ever, I  summoned  my  courage  and  determination  ;  wrote 
down  on  a  leaf  of  my  pocket-book  my  last  will,  the  acciden- 
tal manner  of  my  death,  and  my  dying  remembrance  of 
Berga  ;  and  then,  with  full  sails,  flew  helterskelter  through 
the    midst  of  it  the   shortest   way  ;  expecting  at  every  step 

103.    Or   are    all    Mosques,    Episcopal-churches,    Pagodas,    Cha- 
pels-of-Ease,  Tabernacles,  and  Pantheons,  anything  else   than  the 
Ethnic  Forecourt  of  the  Invisible  Temple  and  its  Holy  of  Holies? 
15* 


174  RICHTER. 

to  awaken  the  murderous  engine,  and  thus  to  clap  over  my 
still  long  candle  of  life  the  bonsoir,  or  extinguisher,  with  my 
own  hand.  However,  I  got  off  without  shot.  In  the  tavern, 
indeed,  there  was  more  than  one  fool  to  laugh  at  me  ;  be- 
cause, forsooth,  what  none  but  a  fool  could  know,  this  No- 
tice had  stood  there  for  the  last  ten  years  without  any  gun, 
as  guns  often  do  without  any  notice.  But  so  it  is,  my 
Friends,  with  our  game-police,  which  warns  against  all 
things,  only  not  against  warnings. 

For  the  rest,  throughout  the  whole  stage,  I  had  a  con- 
stant source  of  altercation  with  the  coachman,  because  he 
grudged  stopping  perhaps  once  in  the  quarter  of  an  hour, 
when  I  chose  to  come  out  for  a  natural  purpose.  Unhappily, 
in  truth,  one  has  little  reason  to  expect  water-doctors  among 
the  postilion  class,  since  Physicians  themselves  have  so  sel- 
dom learned  from  Haller's  large  Physiology  that  a  postpone- 
ment of  the  above  operation  will  precipitate  devilish  stone- 
ware, and  at  last  precipitate  the  proprietor  himself;  this  stone- 
manufactory  being  generally  concluded,  not  by  the  Lithoto- 
mist,  but  by  Death.  Had  postilions  read  that  Tycho  Brahe 
died  like  a  bombshell  by  bursting,  they  would  rather  pull  up 
for  a  moment ;  with  such  unlooked-for  knowledge,  they 
would  see  it  to  be  reasonable  that  a  man,  though  expecting 
some  time  to  carry  his  death-stone  on  him,  should  not  in- 
cline, for  the  time  being,  to  carry  it  in  him.  Nay,  have  I 
not  often,  at  Weimar,  in  the  longest  concluding  scenes  of 
Schiller,  run  out  with  tears  in  my  eyes ;  purely  that,  while 
his  Minerva  was  melting  me  on  the  whole,  I  might  not  by 
the  Gorgon's  head  on  her  breast  be  partially  turned  to 
stone  ?     And  did  I  not   return  to  the   weeping  play-house, 

40.  The  common  man  is  copious  only  in  narration,  not  in  reason- 
ing j  the  cultivated  man  is  brief  only  in  the  former,  not  in  the 
latter  ;  because  the  common  man's  reasons  are  a  sort  of  sensations, 


175 

and  fall  into  the  general  emotion  so  much  the   more  briskly, 
as  now  I  had  nothing  to  give  vent  to  but  my  heart  ? 
Deep  in  the  dark  we  arrived  at  Niederschona. 


Third  Stage ;  from  Niederschona  to  Fldtz. 

While  I  am  standing  at  the  Posthouse  musing,  with  my 
eye  fixed  on  my  portmanteau,  comes  a  beast  of  a  watchman, 
and  bellows  and  brays  in  his  night-tube  so  close  by  my  ear 
that  I  start  back  in  trepidation,  I  whom  even  a  too  hasty 
accosting  will  vex.  Ts  there  no  medical  police,  then,  against 
such  efflated  hour-fulminators  and  alarm-cannon,  by  which 
notwithstanding  no  gunpowder  cannon  are  saved  ?  In  my 
opinion  nobody  should  be  invested  with  the  watchman-horn 
but  some  reasonable  man,  who  had  already  blown  himself 
into  an  asthma,  and  who  would  consequently  be  in  case  to 
sing  out  his  hour-verse  so  low  that  you  could  not  hear  it. 

What  I  had  long  expected,  and  the  Dwarf  predicted,  now 
took  place  .;  deeply  stooping,  through  the  high  Posthouse 
door,  issued  the  Giant,  and  raised  in  the  open  air  a  most 
unreasonably  high  figure,  heightened  by  the  ell-long  bonnet 
and  feather  on  his  huge  jobbernowl.  My  Brother-in-law, 
beside  him,  looked  but  like  his  son  of  fourteen  years ;  the 
Dwarf  like  his  lap-dog  waiting  for  him  on  its  two  hind  legs. 
44  Good  friend,"  said  my  bantering  Brother-in-law,  leading 
him  towards  me  and  the  stagecoach,  "just  step  softly  in,  we 
shall  all  be  happy  to  make  room  for  you.  Fold  yourself 
neatly  together,  lay  your  head  on  your  knee,  and  it  will  do." 

which,  as  well  as  things  visible,  he  merely  looks  at;  by  the  culti- 
vated man,  again,  both  reasons  and  things  visible  are  rather  thought 
than  looked  at. 

9.  In  any  national  calamity  the  ancient  Egyptians  took  revenge 
on  the  god  Typhon,  whom  they  blamed  for  it,  by  hurling  his  favor- 


176  RICHTER. 

The  unseasonable  banlerer  would  willingly  have  seen  the 
almost  stupid  Giant  (of  whom  he  had  soon  observed  that  his 
brain  was  no  active  substance,  but  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  his 
trunk)  squeezed  in  among  us  in  the  post-chest,  and  lying 
kneaded  together  like  a  sand-bag  before  him.  "  Won't  do  ! 
Won't  do  !  "  said  the  Giant,  looking  in.  "  The  gentleman 
perhaps  does  not  know,"  said  the  Dwarf,  "  how  big  the 
Giant  is  ;  and  so  he  thinks  that  because  I  go  in  —  But  that 
is  another  story  ;  J  will  creep  into  any  hole,  do  but  tell  me 
where." 

In  short,  there  was  no  resource  for  the  Postmaster  and 
the  Giant,  but  that  the  latter  should  plant  himself  behind,  in 
the  character  of  luggage,  and  there  lie  bending  down  like  a 
weeping  willow  over  the  whole  vehicle.  To  me  such  a 
back-wall  and  rear-guard  could  not  be  particularly  gratify- 
ing;  and  I  may  refer  it  (I  hope)  to  any  one  of  you,  ye 
Friends,  if  with  such  ware  at  your  back  you  would  not,  as 
clearly  and  earnestly  as  I,  have  considered  what  manifold 
murderous  projects  a  knave  of  a  Giant  behind  you,  a  pur- 
suer in  all  senses,  might  not  maliciously  attempt;  say,  that 
he  broke  in  and  assailed  you  by  the  back-window,  or  with 
Titanian  strength  laid  hold  of  the  coach-roof  and  demolished 
the  whole  party  in  a  lump.  However,  this  Elephant  (who 
indeed  seemed  to  owe  the  similarity  more  to  his  overpower- 
ing mass  than  to  his  quick  light  of  inward  faculty),  crossing 
his  arms  over  the   top  of  the  vehicle,  soon   began   to  sleep 

ites,  the  Asses,  down  over  rocks.  In  similar  wise  have  countries  of 
a  different  religion  now  and  then  taken  their  revenge. 

70.  Let  Poetry  veil  itself  in  Philosophy,  but  only  as  the  latter 
does  in  the  former.  Philosophy  in  poetized  Prose  resembles  those 
tavern  drinking-glasses,  encircled  with  party-colored  wreaths  of 
figures,  which  disturb  your  enjoyment  both  of  the  drink,  and 
(often  awkwardly  eclipsing  and  covering  each  other)  of  the  carving 
also. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.     177 

and  snore  above  us  ;  an  Elephant,  of  whom,  as  I  more  and 
more  joyfully  observed,  my  brother-in-law,  the  Dragoon, 
could  easily  be  the  tamer  and  bridle-holder,  nay,  had  al- 
ready been  so. 

As  more  than  one  person  now  felt  inclined  to  sleep,  but 
I,  on  the  contrary,  as  was  proper,  to  wake,  I  freely  offered 
my  seat  of  honor,  the  front  place  in  the  coach  (meaning 
thereby  to  abolish  many  little  flaws  of  envy  in  my  fellow- 
passengers),  to  such  persons  as  wished  to  take  a  nap  there- 
on. The  Legations-man  accepted  the  offer  with  eagerness, 
and  soon  fell  asleep  there  sitting,  under  the  Titan.*  To  me 
this  sort  of  coach-sleeping  of  a  diplomatic  charge  d'affaires, 
remained  a  thing  incomprehensible.  A  man,  that  in  the 
middle  of  a  stranger  and  often  barbarously-minded  company 
permits  himself  to  slumber,  may  easily,  supposing  him  to 
talk  in  his  sleep  and  coach,  (think  of  the  Saxon  minister! 
before  the  Seven  Years  War  ! )  blab  out  a  thousand  secrets, 
and  crimes,  some  of  which,  perhaps,  he  has  not  committed. 
Should  not  every  minister,  ambassador,  or  other  man  of 
honor  and  rank,  really  shudder  at  the  thought  of  insanity  or 
violent  fevers  ;  seeing  no  mortal  can  be  his  surety  that  he 
shall  not  in  such  cases  publish  the  greatest  scandals,  of 
which,  it  may  be,  the  half  are  lies  ? 

At  last,  after  the  long  July  night,  we  passengers,  together 
with  Aurora,  arrived  in  the  precincts  of  Flatz.     I   looked 

158.  Governments  should  not  too  often  change  the  penny-trumps 
and  child's-drums  of  the  Poets  for  the  regimental  trumpet  and  fire- 
drum  ;    on    the  other  hand,  good  subjects  should  regard   many  a 

*  Titan  is  also  the  title  of  this  Legations-Rath  Jean  Pierre  or 
Jean  Paul  (Friedrich  Richter)'s  chief  novel.  —  Ed. 

t  Brilhl,  I  suppose ;  but  the  historical  edition  of  the  matter  is, 
that  Bruhl's  treasonable  secrets  were  come  at  by  the  more  ordi- 
nary means  of  wax  impressions  of  his  keys.  —  Ed. 


178 


RICHTER. 


with  a  sharp  yet  moistened  eye  at  the  steeples.  I  believe, 
every  man  who  has  anything  decisive  to  seek  in  a  town, 
and  to  whom  it  is  either  to  be  a  judgment-seat  of  his  hopes, 
or  their  anchoring-slation,  either  a  battle-field  or  a  sugar- 
field,  first  and  longest  directs  his  eye  on  the  steeples  of  the 
town,  as  upon  the  indexes  and  balance-tongues  of  his  future 
destiny  ;  these  artificial  peaks,  which,  like  natural  ones,  are 
the  thrones  of  our  Future.  As  I  happened  to  express 
myself  on  this  point  perhaps  too  poetically  to  Jean  Pierre, 
he  answered,  with  sufficient  want  of  taste  :  "  The  steeples 
of  such  towns  are  indeed  the  Swiss  Alpine  peaks,  on  which 
we  milk  and  manufacture  the  Swiss  cheese  of  our  Future." 
Did  the  Legations-Peter  mean  with  this  style  to  make  me 
ridiculous,  or  only  himself?  Determine  ! 

u  Here  is  the  place,  the  town,"  said  I  in  secret,  "  where 
to-day  much  and  for  many  years  is  to  be  determined,  where 
thou,  this  evening,  about  five  o'clock,  art  to  present  thy  pe- 
tition and  thyself.  May  it  prosper  !  May  it  be  successful  ! 
Let  Flatz,  this  arena  of  thy  little  efforts  among  the  rest, 
become  a  building-space  for  fair  castles  and  air-castles  to 
two  hearts,  thy  own  and  thy  Berga's!" 

At  the  Tiger  Inn  I  alighted. 


First  Day  in  Flatz. 

No  mortal,  in  my  situation  at  this  Tiger-hotel,  would 
have  triumphed  much  in  his  more  immediate  prospects.  I, 
as  the  only  man  known  to  me,  especially  in  the  way  of  love 

princely  drum-tendency  simply  as  a  disease,  in   which   the   patient, 
by  air  insinuating  under  the  skin,  has  got  dreadfully  swoln. 

89.  In  great  towns,  a  stranger,  for  the  first  day  or  two  after  his 
arrival,  lives  purely  at  his   own  expense,  in   an  inn  ;  afterwards,  in 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  179 

(of  the  runaway  Dragoon  anon!),  looked  out  from  the  win- 
dows of  the  overflowing  Tnn,  and  down  on  the  rushing  sea 
of  marketers,  and  very  soon  began  to  reflect,  that,  except 
Heaven  and  the  rascals  and  murderers,  none  knew  how 
many  of  the  latter  two  classes  were  floating  among  the  tide  ; 
purposing  perhaps  to  lay  hold  of  the  most  innocent  strang- 
ers, and  in  part  cut  their  purses,  in  part  their  throats.  My 
situation  had  a  special  circumstance  against  it.  My  brother- 
in-law,  who  still  comes  plump  out  with  everything,  had 
mentioned  that  I  was  to  put  up  at  the  Tiger.  O  Heaven, 
when  will  such  people  learn  to  be  secret,  and  to  cover  even 
the  meanest  pettinesses  of  life  under  mantles  and  veils,  were 
it  only  that  a  silly  mouse  may  as  often  give  birth  to  a  moun- 
tain, as  a  mountain  to  a  mouse  !  The  whole  rabble  of  the 
stagecoach  stopped  at  the  Tiger  ;  the  Harlot,  the  Ratcatcher, 
Jean  Pierre,  the  Giant,  who  had  dismounted  at  the  Gate  of 
the  town,  and  carrying  the  huge  block-head  of  the  Dwarf 
on  his  shoulders  as  his  own  (cloaking  over  the  deception  by 
his  cloak),  had  thus,  like  a  ninny,  exhibited  himself  gratis 
by  half  a  dwarf  more  gigantic  than  he  could  be  seen  for 
money. 

And  now  for  each  of  the  Passengers,  the  question  was 
how  he  could  make  the  Tiger,  the  heraldic  emblem  of  the 
Inn,  his  prototype  ;  and  so,  what  lamb  he  might  suck  the 
blood  of,  and  tear  in  pieces,  and  devour.  My  brother-in- 
law  too  left  me,  having  gone  in  quest  of  some  horse-dealer  ; 

the  houses  of  his  friends,  without  expense  ;  on  the  other  hand,  if 
you  arrive  at  the  Earth,  as  for  instance  I  have  done,  you  are  courte- 
ously maintained,  precisely  for  the  first  few  years,  free  of  charges; 
but  in  the  next  and  longer  series  —  for  you  often  stay  sixty  —  you 
are  actually  obliged  (I  have  the  documents  in  my  hands)  to  pay  for 
every  drop  and  morsel,  as  if  you  were  in  the  great  Earth  Inn,  which 
indeed  you  are. 

107.  Germany  is  a  long  lofty  mountain  —  under  the  sea. 


180  RICHTER. 

but  he  retained  the  chamber  next  mine  for  his  sister ;  this, 
it  appeared,  was  to  denote  attention  on  his  part.  I  remained 
solitary,  left  to  my  own  intrepidity  and  force  of  purpose. 

Yet  among  so  many  villains,  encompassing  if  not  even 
beleaguering  me,  I  thought  warmly  of  one  far  distant,  faith- 
ful soul,  of  my  Berga  in  Neusattel ;  a  true  heart  of  pith, 
which  perhaps  with  many  a  weak  marriage-partner  might 
have  given  protection  rather  than  sought  it. 

"  Appear,  then,  quickly  to-morrow  at  noon,  Berga,"  said 
my  heart ;  "  and  if  possible  before  noon,  that  I  may  length- 
en thy  market  paradise  so  many  hours  as  thou  arrivest  ear- 
lier !  " 

A  clergyman,  amid  the  tempests  of  the  world,  readily 
makes  for  a  free  harbor,  for  the  church  ;  the  church-wall  is 
his  casement-wall  and  fortification  ;  and  behind  are  to  be 
found  more  peaceful  and  more  accordant  souls  than  on  the 
market-place ;  in  short,  I  went  into  the  High  Church. 
However,  in  the  course  of  the  psalm,  I  was  somewhat  dis- 
turbed by  a  Heiduc,  who  came  up  to  a  well-dressed  young 
gentleman  sitting  opposite  me,  and  tore  the  double  opera- 
glass  from  his  nose,  it  being  against  rule  in  Flatz,  as  it  is  in 
Dresden,  to  look  at  the  Court  with  glasses  which  diminish 
and  approximate.  I  myself  had  on  a  pair  of  spectacles, 
but  they  were  magnifiers.  It  was  impossible  for  me  to  re- 
solve on  taking  them  off;  and  here  again,  I  am  afraid,  I 
shall  pass  for  a  fool-hardy  person  and  a  desperado  ;  so  much 
only  I  reckoned  fit,  to  look  invariably  into  my  psalm-book  ; 
not  once  lifting  my  eyes  while   the  Court   was   rustling  and 

144.  The  Reviewer  does  not  in  reality  employ  his  pen  for  wri- 
ting ;  but  he  burns  it,  to  awaken  weak  people  from  their  swoons 
with  the  smell  ;  he  tickles  with  it  the  throat  of  the  plagiary,  to 
make  him  render  back;  and  he  picks  with  it  his  own  teeth.  He  is 
the  only  individual  in  the  whole  learned  lexicon  that  can  never 
exhaust  himself,  never  write  himself  out,  let  him  sit  before  the  ink- 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.     181 

entering,  thereby  to  denote  that  my  glasses  were  ground 
convex.  For  the  rest,  the  sermon  was  good,  if  not  always 
finely  conceived  for  a  Court-church ;  it  admonished  the 
hearers  against  innumerable  vices,  to  whose  counterparts, 
the  virtues,  another  preacher  might  so  readily  have  exhorted 
us.  During  the  whole  service,  I  made  it  my  business  to 
exhibit  true,  deep  reverence,  not  only  towards  God,  but  also 
towards  my  illustrious  Prince.  For  the  latter  reverence  I 
had  my  private  reason.  I  wished  to  stamp  this  sentiment 
strongly  and  openly  as  with  raised  letters  on  my  counte- 
nance, and  so  give  the  lie  to  any  malicious  imp  about  Court, 
by  whom  my  contravention  of  the  Panegyric  on  Nero,  and 
my  free  German  satire  on  this  real  tyrant  himself,  which 
I  had  inserted  in  the  Fldtz  Weekly  Journal,  might  have 
been  perverted  into  a  secret  characteristic  portrait  of  my 
own  Sovereign.  We  live  in  such  times  at  present,  that 
scarcely  can  we  compose  a  pasquinade  on  the  Devil  in 
Hell,  but  some  human  Devil  on  Earth  will  apply  it  to  an 
angel. 

When  the  Court  at  last  issued  from  church,  and  were 
getting  into  their  carriages,  J.  kept  at  such  a  distance  that  my 
face  could  not  possibly  be  noticed,  in  case  I  had  happened 
to  assume  no  reverent  look,  but  an  indifferent  or  even  proud 
one.  God  knows,  who  has  kneaded  into  me  those  mad,  des- 
perate fancies  and  crotchets,  which  perhaps  would  sit  better 
on  a  Hero  Schabaeker  than  on  an  Army-chaplain  under  him. 

glass  for  centuries  or  tens  of  centuries.  For  while  the  Scholar,  the 
Philosopher,  and  the  Poet,  produce  their  new  book  solely  from  new 
materials  and  growth,  the  Reviewer  merely  lays  his  old  gage  of 
taste  and  knowledge  on  a  thousand  new  works;  and  his  light,  in 
the  ever-passing,  ever-differently-cut  glass-world,  which  he  eluci- 
dates, is  still  refracted  into  new  colors. 

71.  The  Youth  is  singular  from  caprice,  and  takes   pleasure  in  it; 
the  Man  is  so  from  constraint,  unintentionally,  and  feels  pain  in  it. 
VOL.   II.  16 


182  RICHTER. 

I  cannot  here  forbear  recording  to  you,  my  Friends,  one  of 
the  maddest  among  them,  though  at  first  it  may  throw  too 
glaring  a  light  on  me.  It  was  at  my  ordination  to  be  Army- 
chaplain,  while  about  to  participate  in  the  Sacrament,  on  the 
first  day  of  Easter.  Now,  here  while  I  was  standing,  moved 
into  softness,  before  the  balustrade  of  the  altar,  in  the  middle 
of  the  whole  male  congregation,  —  nay,  I  perhaps  more 
deeply  moved  than  any  among  them,  since,  as  a  person 
going  to  war,  I  might  consider  myself  a  half-dead  man, 
that  was  now  partaking  in  the  last  Feast  of  Souls,  as  it  were 
like  a  person  to  be  hanged  on  the  morrow, —  here,  then, 
amid  the  pathetic  effects  of  the  organ  and  singing,  there 
rose  something  —  were  it  the  first  Easter-day  which  awoke 
in  me  what  primitive  Christians  called  their  Easter-laughter, 
or  merely  the  contrast  between  the  most  devilish  predica- 
ments and  the  most  holy, —  in  short,  there  rose  something 
in  me  (for  which  reason  I  have  ever  since  taken  the  part 
of  every  simple  person  who  might  ascribe  such  things  to 
the  Devil),  and  this  something  started  the  question:  "Now, 
could  there  be  aught  more  diabolical  than  if  thou,  just  in 
receiving  the  Holy  Supper,  wert  madly  and  blasphemously 
to  begin  laughing?  "  Instantly  I  took  to  wrestling  with  this 
hell-dog  of  a  thought ;  neglected  the  most  precious  feelings, 
merely  to  keep  the  dog  in  my  eye,  and  scare  him  away ; 
yet  was  forced  to  draw  back  from  him,  exhausted  and 
unsuccessful,  and  arrived  at  the  step  of  the  altar  with  the 
mournful  certainty  that  in  a  little  while  I  should,  without 
more  ado,  begin  laughing,  let  me  weep  and  moan  inwardly 
as  I  liked.     Accordingly,  while  I  and  a  very  worthy  old 


198.  The  Populace  and  Cattle  grow  giddy  on  the  edge  of  no 
abyss;    with  the  Man  it  is  otherwise. 

11.  The  Golden  Calf  of  Self-love  soon  waxes  to  be  a  burning 
Phalaris's  Bull,  which  reduces  its  father  and  adorer  to  ashes. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  183 

Biirgermeister  were  bowing  down  together  before  the  long 
parson,  and  the  latter  (perhaps  kneeling  on  the  low  cushion, 
I  fancied  him  too  long)  put  the  wafer  in  my  clenched  mouth, 
I  felt  all  the  muscles  of  laughter  already  beginning  sardoni- 
cally to  contract  ;  and  these  had  not  long  acted  on  the 
guiltless  integument,  till  an  actual  smile  appeared  there; 
and  as  we  bowed  the  second  time,  I  was  grinning  like  an 
ape.  My  companion  the  Biirgermeister  justly  expostulated 
with  me,  in  a  low  voice,  as  we  walked  round  behind  the 
altar  :  "  In  Heaven's  name,  are  you  an  ordained  Preacher 
of  the  Gospel,  or  a  Merry-Andrew?  Is  it  Satan  that  is 
laughing  out  of  you?  " 

"Ah,  Heaven  !  who  else  ?  "  said  I ;  and  this  being  over, 
I  finished  my  devotions  in  a  more  becoming  fashion. 

From  the  church  (I  now  return  to  the  Flatz  one),  I  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Tiger  Inn,  and  dined  at  the  table-cThote,  being 
at  no  time  shy  of  encountering  men.  Previous  to  the 
second  course,  a  waiter  handed  me  an  empty  plate,  on 
which,  to  my  astonishment,  I  noticed  a  French  verse  scratch- 
ed in  with  a  fork,  containing  nothing  less  than  a  lampoon 
on  the  Commandant  of  Flatz.  Without  ceremony,  I  held 
out  the  plate  to  the  company ;  saying,  I  had  just,  as  they 
saw,  got  this  lampooning  cover  presented  to  me,  and  must 
request  them  to  bear  witness  that  I  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  matter.  An  officer  directly  changed  plates  with  me. 
During  the  fifth  course,  I  could  not  but  admire  the  chemico- 
medical    ignorance  of    the   company  ;    for  a   hare,   out  of 

103.  The  male  Beau-crop,  which  surrounds  the  female  Roses  and 
Lilies,  must  (if  I  rightly  comprehend  its  flatteries)  most  probably 
presuppose  in  the  fair  the  manners  of  the  Spaniards  and  Italians, 
who  offer  any  valuable,  by  way  of  present,  to  the  man  who  praises 
it  excessively. 

199.  But  not  many  existing  Governments,  I  believe,  do  behead 
under  pretext  of  trepanning ;  or  sew  (in  a  more  choice  allegory)  the 


184  RICHTER. 

which  a  gentleman  extracted  and  exhibited  several  grains 
of  shot,  that  is  to  say,  therefore,  of  lead  alloyed  with  arsenic, 
and  then  cleaned  by  hot  vinegar,  did,  nevertheless,  by  the 
spectators  (I  expected)  continue  to  be  pleasantly  eaten. 

In  the  course  of  our  table-talk,  one  topic  seized  me  keenly 
by  my  weak  side,  I  mean  by  my  honor.  The  law  custom 
of  the  city  happened  to  be  mentioned,  as  it  affects  natural 
children  ;  and  I  learned  that  here  a  loose  girl  may  convert 
any  man  she  pleases  to  select  into  the  father  of  her  brat, 
simply  by  her  oath.  "Horrible!"  said  I,  and  my  hair 
stood  on  end.  "  In  this  way  may  the  worthiest  head  of  a 
family,  with  a  wife  and  children,  or  a  clergyman  lodging 
in  the  Tiger,  be  stript  of  honor  and  innocence,  by  any 
wicked  chambermaid  whom  he  may  have  seen,  or  who  may 
have  seen  him,  in  the  course  of  her  employment ! " 

An  elderly  officer  observed  :  "  But  will  the  girl  swear 
herself  to  the  Devil  so  readily  ?  " 

What  logic  !  "  Or,  suppose,"  continued  I,  without  answer, 
"  a  man  happened  to  be  travelling  with  that  Vienna  Lock- 
smith, who  afterwards  became  a  mother,  and  was  brought 
to  bed  of  a  baby  son  ;  or  with  any  disguised  Chevalier 
d'Eon,  who  often  passes  the  night  in  his  company,  whereby 
the  Locksmith  or  the  Chevalier  can  swear  to  their  private 
interviews ;  no  delicate  man  of  honor  will  in  the  end  risk 
travelling  with  another ;  seeing  he  knows  not  how  soon  the 
latter  may  pull  off  his  boots,  and  pull  on  his  women's-pumps, 

people's  lips  together,  under  pretence  of  sewing  the  harelips  in 
them. 

67.  Hospitable  Entertainer,  wouldst  thou  search  into  thy  Guest? 
Accompany  him  to  another  Entertainer,  and  listen  to  him.  Just  so, 
wouldst  thou  become  better  acquainted  with  Mistress  in  an  hour, 
than  by  living  with  her  for  a  month  ?  Accompany  her  among  her 
female  friends  and  female  enemies  (if  that  is  no  pleonasm),  and 
look  at  her  ! 


185 

and  swear  his  companion  into  fatherhood,  and  himself  to 
the  Devil!" 

Some  of  the  company,  however,  misunderstood  my 
oratorical  fire  so  much,  that  they,  sheep-wise,  gave  some 
insinuations  as  if  I  myself  were  not  strict  in  this  point,  but 
lax.  By  Heaven  !  I  no  longer  knew  what  I  was  eating  or 
speaking.  Happily,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  table,  some 
lying  story  of  a  French  defeat  was  started.  Now,  as  I  had 
read  on  the  street  corners  that  French  and  German  Pro- 
clamation, calling  before  the  Court  Martial  any  one  who 
had  heard  war  rumors  (disadvantageous,  namely),  without 
giving  notice  of  them,  —  I,  as  a  man  not  willing  ever  to 
forget  himself,  had  nothing  more  prudent  to  do  in  this  case, 
than  to  withdraw  with  empty  ears,  telling  none  but  the  land- 
lord why. 

It  was  no  improper  time  ;  for  I  had  previously  deter- 
mined to  have  my  beard  shaven  about  half  past  four,  that 
so,  towards  five,  I  might  present  myself  with  a  chin  just 
polished  by  the  razor  smoothing-iron,  and  sleek  as  wove- 
paper,  without  the  smallest  root-stump  of  a  hair  left  on  it. 
By  way  of  preparation,  like  Pitt  before  Parliamentary  de- 
bates, I  poured  a  devilish  deal  of  Pontac  into  my  stomach, 
with  true  disgust,  and  contrary  to  all  sanitary  rules ;  not  so 
much  for  fronting  the  light  stranger  Barber,  as  the  Min- 
ister and  General  von  Schabacker,  with  whom  I  had  it 
in  view  to  exchange  perhaps  more  than  one  fiery  state- 
ment. 

The  common   Hotel   Barber  was  ushered  in  to  me  ;  but 


80.  In  the  Summer  of  life,  men  keep  digging  and  filling  ice- 
pits,  as  well  as  circumstances  will  admit ;  that  so,  in  their  Winter, 
they  may  have  something  in  store  to  give  them  coolness. 

28.  It  is  impossible  for  me,  amid  the  tendril-forest  of  allusions 
(even   this  again  is  a  tendril-twig),   to  state  and    declare  on    the 

16* 


186 


RICHTER. 


at  first  view  you  noticed  in  his  polygonal,  zigzag  visage, 
more  of  a  man  that  would  finally  go  mad,  than  of  one 
growing  wiser.  Now,  madmen  are  a  class  of  persons  whom 
I  hate  incredibly;  and  nothing  can  take  me  to  see  any  mad- 
house, simply  because  the  first  maniac  among  them  may 
clutch  me  in  his  giant  fists  if  he  like  ;  and  because,  owing 
to  infection,  I  cannot  be  sure  that  I  shall  ever  get  out  again 
with  the  sense  which  I  brought  in.  In  a  general  way,  I  sit 
(when  once  I  am  lathered)  in  such  a  posture  on  my  chair 
as  to  keep  both  my  hands  (the  eyes  I  fix  intently  on  the 
barbering  countenance)  lying  clenched  along  my  sides,  and 
pointed  directly  at  the  midriff  of  the  barber  ;  that  so.  on  the 
smallest  ambiguity  of  movement,  I  may  dash  in  upon  him, 
and  overset  him  in  a  twinkling. 

I  scarce  know  rightly  how  it  happened  ;  but  here,  while 
I  am  anxiously  studying  the  foolish,  twisted  visage  of  the 
shaver,  and  he  just  then  chanced  to  lay  his  long  whetted 
weapon  a  little  too  abruptly  against  my  bare  throat,  I  gave 
him  such  a  sudden  bounce  on  the  abdominal  viscera,  that  the 
silly  varlet  had  well  nigh  suicidally  slit  his  own  windpipe. 
For  me,  truly,  nothing  remained  but  to  indemnify  the  man  ; 
and  then,  contrary  to  my  usual  principles,  to  tie  round  a  broad 
stuffed  cravat,  by  way  of  cloak  to  what  remained  unshorn. 

And  now  at  last  I  sallied  forth  to  the  General,  drinking 
out  the  remnant  of  the  Pontac,  as  I  crossed  the  threshold. 
I  hope  there  were  plans  lying  ready  within  me  for  answer- 
ing rightly,  nay  for  asking.     The  Petition  I  carried   in  my 

spot  whether  all  the  Courts  or  Heights,  the  (Bougouer)  Snowline 
of  Europe,  have  ever  been  mentioned  in  my  writings  or  not ;  but  I 
could  wish  for  information  on  the  subject,  that,  if  not,  I  may  try  to 
do  it  still. 

36.  And  so  I  should  like,  in  all  cases,  to  be  the  First,  especially 
in  Begging.  The  first  prisoner-of-war,  the  first  cripple,  the  first 
man  ruined  by  burning  (like   him  who  brings  the  first  fire-engine), 


187 

pocket,  and  in  my  right  hand.  In  the  left,  I  had  a  dupli- 
cate of  it.  My  fire  of  spirit  easily  helped  over  the  living 
fence  of  ministerial  obstructions  ;  and  soon  I  unexpectedly 
found  myself  in  the  ante-chamber,  among  his  most  distin- 
guished lackeys  ;  persons,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  not  inclined 
to  change  flour  for  bran  with  any  one.  Selecting  the  most 
respectable  individual  of  the  number,  I  delivered  him  my 
paper  request,  accompanied  with  the  verbal  one  that  he 
would  hand  it  in.  He  took  it,  but  ungraciously.  I  waited 
in  vain  till  far  in  the  sixth  hour,  at  which  season  alone  the 
gay  General  can  safely  be  applied  to.  At  last  I  pitch  upon 
another  lackey,  and  repeat  my  request ;  he  runs  about  seek- 
ing his  runaway  brother,  or  my  Petition,  to  no  purpose  ; 
neither  of  them  could  be  found.  How  happy  was  it  that 
in  the  midst  of  my  Pontac,  before  shaving,  I  had  written  out 
the  duplicate  of  this  paper  ;  and  therefore  —  simply  on  the 
principle  that  you  should  always  keep  a  second  wooden  leg 
packed  into  your  knapsack  when  you  have  the  first  on  your 
body  — and  out  of  fear,  that,  if  the  original  petition  chanced 
to  drop  from  me  in  the  way  between  the  Tiger  and  Scha- 
backer's,  my  whole  journey  and  hope  would  melt  into  water 
—  and  therefore,  I  say,  having  stuck  the  repeating  work  of 
that  original  paper  into  my  pocket,  I  had,  in  any  case, 
something  to  hand  in,  and  that  something  truly  a  Ditto.  I 
handed  it  in. 

Unhappily  six  o'clock  was  already  past.      The  lackey, 

gains  the  head-subscription  and  the  heart ;  the  next  comer  finds 
nothing  but  Duty  to  address ;  and  at  last,  in  this  melodious  man- 
cando  of  sympathy,  matters  sink  so  far,  that  the  last  (if  the  last  but 
one  may  at  least  have  retired  laden  with  a  rich  "  God  help  you  !  ") 
obtains  from  the  benignant  hand  nothing  more  than  its  fist.  And 
as  in  Begging  the  first,  so  in  Giving  I  should  like  to  be  the  last ; 
one  obliterates  the  other,  especially  the  last  the  first.  So,  however, 
is  the  world  ordered. 


1S8  RICHTER. 

however,  did  not  keep  me  long  waiting;  but  returned  with 
—  I  may  say,  the  text  of  this  whole  Circular —  the  almost 
rude  answer  (which  you,  my  Friends,  out  of  regard  for  me 
and  Schabacker,  will  not  divulge),  that:  "  In  case  I  were  the 
Attila  Schmelzle  of  Schabacker's  Regiment,  I  might  lift  my 
pigeon-liver  flag  again,  and  fly  to  the  Devil,  as  I  did  at 
Pimpelstadt."  Another  man  would  have  dropt  dead  on  the 
spot;  I,  however,  walked  quite  stoutly  off,  answering  the 
fellow  :  "  With  great  pleasure  indeed,  I  fly  to  the  Devil  ; 
and  so  Devil  a  fly  I  care."  On  the  road  home,  I  examined 
myself,  whether  it  had  not  been  the  Pontac  that  spoke  out 
of  me  (though  the  very  examination  contradicted  this,  for 
Pontac  never  examines)  ;  but  I  found  that  nothing  but  I,  my 
heart,  my  courage  perhaps,  had  spoken  ;  and  why,  after  all, 
any  whimpering  ?  Does  not  the  patrimony  of  my  good 
wife  endow  me  better  than  ten  Catechetical  Professorships  ? 
And  has  she  not  furnished  all  the  corners  of  my  book  of 
Life  with  so  many  golden  clasps,  that  I  can  open  it  forever 
without  wearing  it?  Let  henhearts  cackle  and  pip;  I 
flapped  my  pinions,  and  said  :  "  Dash  boldly  through  it, 
come  what  may  ! "  I  felt  myself  excited  and  exalted  ;  I 
fancied  Republics,  in  which  I,  as  a  hero,  might  be  at  home ; 
I  longed  to  be  in  that  noble  Grecian  time,  when  one  hero 
readily  put  up  with  bastinadoes  from  another,  and  said  : 
"  Strike,  but  hear !  "  and  out  of  this  ignoble  one,  where 
men  will  scarcely  put  up  with  hard  words,  to  say  nothing  of 
more.  I  painted  out  to  my  mind  how  I  should  feel,  if,  in 
happier  circumstances,  I  were  uprooting  hollow  Thrones, 
and   before   whole  nations  mounting  on  mighty  deeds  as  on 


136.  If  you  mount  too  high  above  your  time,  your  ears  (on  the  side 
of  Fame)  are  little  better  off  than  if  you  sink  too  deep  below  it ;  in 
truth,  Charles  up  in  his  Balloon,  and  Halley  down  in  his  Diving- 
bell,  felt  equally  the  same  strange  pain  in  their  ears. 


189 

the  Temple-steps  of  Immortality  ;  and,  in  gigantic  ages, 
finding  quite  other  men  to  outman  and  outstrip,  than  the 
mite-populace  about  me,  or,  at  the  best,  here  and  there  a 
Vulcanello.  I  thought  and  thought,  and  grew  wilder  and 
wilder,  and  intoxicated  myself  (no  Pontac  intoxication  there- 
fore, which,  you  know,  increases  more  by  continuance  than 
cessation  of  drinking),  and  gesticulated  openly,  as  I  put  the 
question  to  myself :  "  Wilt  thou  be  a  mere  state-lapdog  ? 
A  dog's-dog,  a  pium  desiderium  of  an  impium  desiderium, 
an  Ex-Ex,  a  Nothing's-Nothing  ?  — Fire  and  Fury  !  "  With 
this,  however,  I  dashed  down  my  hat  into  the  mud  of  the 
market.  On  lifting  and  cleaning  this  old  servant,  I  could 
not  but  perceive  how  worn  and  faded  it  was ;  and  I  there- 
fore determined  instantly  to  purchase  a  new  one,  and 
carry  the  same  home  in  my  hand. 

I  accomplished  this.  I  bought  one  of  the  finest  cut. 
Strangely  enough,  by  this  hat,  as  if  it  had  been  a  Gradua- 
tion-hat, was  my  head  tried  and  examined  in  the  Ziegen- 
gasse  or  Goat-gate  of  Flatz.  For  as  general  Schabacker 
came  driving  along  that  street  in  his  carriage,  and  I  (it  need 
not  be  said)  was  determined  to  avenge  myself,  not  by 
vulgar  clownishness,  but  by  courtesy,  I  had  here  got  one  of 
the  most  ticklish  problems  imaginable  to  solve  on  the  spur 
of  the  instant.  You  observe,  if  I  swung  only  the  fine  hat 
which  I  carried  in  my  hand,  and  kept  the  faded  one  on  my 
head, —  I  might  have  the  appearance  of  a  perfect  clown, 
who  does  not  doff  at  all  ;  if,  on  the  other  hand,  I  pulled  the 


25.  In  youth,  like  a  blind  man  just  couched,  (and  what  is  birth 
but  a  couching  of  the  sight  ?)  you  take  the  Distant  for  the  Near, 
the  starry  heaven  for  tangible  room-furniture,  pictures  for  objects  ; 
and,  to  the  young  man,  the  whole  world  is  sitting  on  his  very  nose, 
till  repeating  bandaging  and  unbandaging  have  at  last  taught  him, 
like  the  blind  patient,  to  estimate  Distance  and  Appearance. 


190 


RICHTER. 


old  hat  from  my  head,  and  therewith  did  my  reverence, 
then  two  hats,  both  in  play  at  once  (let  me  swing  the  other 
at  the  same  time  or  not),  brought  my  salute  within  the  verge 
of  ridicule.  Now  do  you,  my  Friends,  before  reading 
farther,  bethink  you  how  a  man  was  to  extricate  himself 
from  such  a  plight,  without  losing  his  presence  of  mind  ! 
I  think,  perhaps,  by  this  means  ;  by  merely  losing  his  hat. 
In  one  word  then  I  simply  dropped  the  new  hat  from  my 
hand  into  the  mud,  to  put  myself  in  a  condition  for  taking 
off  the  old  hat  by  itself,  and  swaying  it  in  needful  courtesy, 
without  any  shade  of  ridicule. 

Arrived  at  the  Tiger, —  to  avoid  misconstructions,  I  first 
had  the  glossy,  fine,  and  superfine  hat  cleaned,  and  some 
time  afterwards  the  mud-hat  or  rubbis-hat. 

And  now,  weighing  my  momentous  Past  in  the  adjusting 
balance  within  me,  I  walked  in  fiery  mood  to  and  fro.  The 
Pontac  must  —  I  know  that  there  is  no  unadulterated  liquor 
here  below  —  have  been  more  than  usually  adulterated  ;  so 
keenly  did  it  chase  my  fancy  out  of  one  fire  into  the  other. 
I  now  looked  forth  into  a  wide,  glittering  life,  in  which  I 
lived  without  post,  merely  on  money  ;  and  which  I  beheld, 
as  it  were,  sowed  with  the  Delphic  caves,  and  Zenonic 
walks,  and  Muse-hills  of  all  the  Sciences,  which  I  might  now 
cultivate  at  my  ease.  In  particular,  I  should  have  it  in  my 
power  to  apply  more  diligently  to  writing  Prize-essays  for 
Academies  ;  of  which  (that   is  to   say,  of  the  Prize-essays) 

125.  In  the  long  run,  out  of  mere  fear  and  necessity,  we  shall 
become  the  warmest  cosmopolites  I  know  of;  so  rapidly  do  ships 
shoot  to  and  fro,  and,  like  shuttles,  weave  Islands  and  Quarters 
of  the  World  together.  For  let  but  the  political  weatherglass  fall 
to-day  in  South  America,  to-morrow  we  in  Europe  have  storm  and 
thunder. 

19.  It  is  easier,  they  say,  to  climb  a  hill  when  you  ascend  back 
foremost.     This,  perhaps,   might  admit  of  application   to  political 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  191 

no  author  need  ever  be  ashamed,  since,  in  all  cases,  there 
is  a  whole  crowning  Academy  to  stand  and  blush  for  the 
crownee.  And  even  if  the  Prize-marksman  does  not  hit  the 
crown,  he  still  continues  more  unknown  and  more  anony- 
mous (his  Device  not  being  unsealed)  than  any  other  author, 
who  indeed  can  publish  some  nameless  Long-ear  of  a  book, 
but  not  hinder  it  from  being,  by  a  Literary  Ass-burial 
(sepultura  asinina),  publicly  interred,  in  a  short  time,  be- 
fore half  the  world. 

Only  one  thing  grieved  me  by  anticipation  ;  the  sorrow 
of  my  Berga,  for  whom,  dear  tired  wayfarer,  I  on  the 
morrow  must  overcloud  her  arrival,  and  her  shortened  mar- 
ket-spectacle, by  my  negatory  intelligence.  She  would  so 
gladly  (and  who  can  take  it  ill  of  a  rich  farmer's  Daugh- 
ter?) have  made  herself  somebody  in  Neusattel,  and  over- 
shone  many  a  female  dignitary  !  Every  mortal  longs  for 
his  parade-place,  and  some  earlier  living  honor  than  the  last 
honors.  Especially  so  good  a  lowly-born  housewife  as  my 
Berga,  conscious  perhaps  rather  of  her  metallic  than  of  her 
spiritual  treasure,  would  still  wish  at  banquets  to  be  mistress 
of  some- seat  or  other,  and  so  in  place  to  overtop  this  or  that 
plucked  goose  of  the  neighborhood. 

It  is  in  this  point  of  view  that  husbands  are  so  indispensa- 
ble. I  therefore  resolved  to  purchase  for  myself,  and  con- 
sequently for  her,  one  of  the  best  of  those  titles   which  our 


eminences  ;  if  you  still  turned  towards  them  that  part  of  the  body 
on  which  you  sit,  and  kept  your  face  directed  down  to  the  people  ; 
all  the  while,  however,  removing  and  mounting. 

26.  Few  German  writers  are  not  original,  if  we  may  ascribe 
originality  (as  is  at  least  the  conversational  practice  of  all  people) 
to  a  man  who  merely  dishes  out  his  own  thoughts  without  foreign 
admixture.  For  as,  between  their  Memory,  where  their  reading  or 
foreign  matter  dwells,  and  their  Imagination  or  Productive  Power, 


192  RICHTER. 

Courts  in  Germany  (as  in  a  Leipzig  sale-room)  stand  offer- 
ing to  buyers,  in  all  sizes  and  sorts,  from  Noble  and  Half- 
noble  down  to  Rath  or  Councillor ;  and  once  invested  there- 
with, to  reflect  from  my  own  Quarter-nobility  such  an 
Eighth-part-nobility  on  this  true  soul,  that  many  a  Neusat- 
telitess  (I  hope)  shall  half  burst  with  envy,  and  say  and  cry  : 
tl  Pooh,  the  stupid  farmer  thing  !  See  how  it  wabbles  and 
bridles  !  It  has  forgot  how  matters  stood  when  it  had  no 
money-bag,  and  no  Hofrath  !  "  For  to  the  Hofrathship  I  shall 
before  this  have  attained. 

But  in  the  cold  solitude  of  my  room,  and  the  fire  of  my 
remembrances,  I  longed  unspeakably  for  my  Bergelchen  ; 
I  and  my  heart  were  wearied  with  the  foreign  busy  day  ; 
no  one  here  said  a  kind  word  to  me,  which  he  did  not  hope 
to  put  in  the  bill.  Friends  !  I  languished  for  my  friend, 
whose  heart  would  pour  out  its  blood  as  a  balsam  for  a  sec- 
ond heart ;  I  cursed  my  over-prudent  regulations,  and 
wished,  that,  to  have  the  good  Berga  at  my  side,  I  had 
given  up  the  stupid  houseware  to  all  thieves  and  fires  what- 
soever. As  I  walked  to  and  fro,  it  seemed  to  me  easier  and 
easier  to  become  all  things,  an  Exchequer-Rath,  an  Excise- 
Rath,  any  Rath  in  the  world,  and  whatever  she  required 
when  she  came. 

"  See  thou  take  thy  pleasure  in  the  town  !  "  had  Bergel- 
chen kept  saying  the  whole  week  through.     But   how,  with- 

vvhere  their  writing  or  own  peculiar  matter  originates,  a  sufficient 
space  intervenes,  and  the  boundary-stones  are  fixed  in  so  conscien- 
tiously and  firmly  that  nothing  foreign  may  pass  over  into  their  own, 
or  inversely,  so  that  they  may  really  read  a  hundred  works  without 
losing  their  own  primitive  flavor,  or  even  altering  it,  —  their  indi- 
viduality may,  I  believe,  be  considered  as  secured  ;  and  their  spirit- 
ual nourishment,  their  pancakes,  loaves,  fritters,  caviare,  and  meat- 
balls, are  not  assimilated  to  their  system,  but  given  back  pure  and 
unaltered.     Often  in  my  own  mind,  I   figure   such   writers  as  living 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.     193 

out  her,  can  I  take  any  ?  Our  tears  of  sorrow  friends  dry 
up,  and  accompany  with  their  own  ;  but  our  tears  of  joy  we 
find  most  readily  repeated  in  the  eyes  of  our  wives.  Par- 
don me,  good  Friends,  these  libations  of  my  sensibility  ;  I 
am  but  showing  you  my  heart  and  my  Berga.  If  I  need 
an  Absolution-merchant,  the  Pontac-merchant  is  the  man. 


First  Night  in  Flatz. 

Yet  the  wine  did  not  take  from  me  the  good  sense  to 
look  under  the  bed,  before  going  into  it,  and  examine 
whether  any  one  was  lurking  there  ;  for  example,  the  Dwarf, 
or  the  Ratcatcher,  or  the  Legations-Rath  ;  also  to  shove  the 
key  under  the  latch  (which  I  reckon  the  best  bolting  ar- 
rangement of  all),  and  then,  by  way  of  farther  assurance, 
to  bore  my  night-screws  into  the  door,  and  pile  all  the  chairs 
in  a  heap  behind  it ;  and,  lastly,  to  keep  on  my  breeches 
and  shoes,  wishing  absolutely  to  have  no  care  upon  my 
mind. 

But  I  had  still  other  precautions  to  take  in  regard  to  sleep- 
walking. To  me  it  has  always  been  incomprehensible  how 
so  many  men  can  go  to  bed,  and  lie  down  at  their  ease  there, 
without  reflecting  that  perhaps,  in  the  first  sleep,  they  may  get 
up  again  as  Somnambulists,  and  crawl  over  the  tops  of  roofs 
and  the  like;  awakening  in  some  spot  where  they  may  fall 
in  a  moment  and  break  their  necks.  While  at  home,  there 
is  little  risk  in  my  sleep  ;  because,  my  right   toe   being   fas- 


but  thousandfold  more  artificial  Ducklings  from  Vaucasson's  Arti- 
ficial Duck  of  Wood.  For  in  fact  they  are  not  less  cunningly  put 
together  than  this  timber  Duck,  which  will  gobble  meat  and  appa- 
rently void  it  again,  under  show  of  having  digested  it,  and  derived 
from  it  blood  and  juices;  though  the  secret  of  the  business  is,  the 
VOL.  II.  17 


194 


RICHTER. 


tened  every  night  with  three  ells  of  tape  (I  call  it  in  jest 
our  marriage  tie)  to  my  wife's  left  hand,  I  feel  a  certainty 
that,  in  case  I  should  start  up  from  this  bed-arrest,  I  must 
with  the  tether  infallibly  awaken  her,  and  so  by  my  Berga, 
as  by  my  living  bridle,  be  again  led  back  to  bed.  But  here 
in  the  Inn,  I  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  knot  myself  once  or 
twice  to  the  bed-foot,  that  I  might  not  wander;  though  in 
this  way,  an  irruption  of  villains  would  have  brought  double 
peril  with  it.  —  Alas!  so  dangerous  is  sleep  at  all  times, 
that  every  man,  who  is  not  lying  on  his  back  a  corpse,  must 
be  on  his  guard  lest  with  the  general  system  some  limb  or 
other  also  fall  asleep  ;  in  which  case  1he  sleeping  limb 
(there  are  not  wanting  examples  of  it  in  Medical  History) 
may  next  morning  be  lying  ripe  for  amputation.  For  this 
reason,  I  have  myself  frequently  awakened,  that  no  part  of 
me  fall  asleep. 

Having  properly  tied  myself  to  the  bed-posts,  and  at 
length  got  under  the  coverlid,  I  now  began  to  be  dubious 
about  my  Pontac  Fire-bath,  and  apprehensive  of  the  valor- 
ous and  tumultuous  dreams  too  likely  to  ensue  ;  which,  alas, 
did  actually  prove  to  be  nothing  better  than  heroic  and  mon- 
archic feats,  castle-stormings,  rock-throwings,  and  the  like. 
This  point  also  I  am  sorry  to  see  so  little  attended  to  in 
medicine.  Medical  gentlemen,  as  well  as  their  customers, 
all  stretch  themselves  quietly  in  their  beds,  without  one 
among  them  considering  whether  a  furious  rage  (supposing 
him  also  directly  after  to  drink  cold  water  in  his  dream),  or 
a  heart-devouring  grief,  all  which  he  may  undergo  in  vision, 
does  harm  to  life  or  not. 


artist  has  merely  introduced  an  ingenious  compound  ejective  matter 
behind,  with  which  concoction  and  nourishment  have  nothing  to 
do,but'whichthe  Duck  illusorily  gives  forth  and  publishes  to  the 
world. 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  195 

Shortly  before  midnight,  I  awoke  from  a  heavy  dream,  to 
encounter  a  ghost-trick  much  too  ghostly  for  my  fancy. 
My  brother-in-law,  who  manufactured  it,  deserves  for  such 
vapid  cookery  to  be  named  before  you  without  reserve,  as 
the  maltmaster  of  this  washy  brewage.  Had  suspicion  been 
more  compatible  with  intrepidity,  I  might  perhaps,  by  his 
moral  maxim  about  this  matter,  on  the  road,  as  well  as  by 
his  taking  up  the  side-room,  at  the  middle  door  of  which 
stood  my  couch,  have  easily  divined  the  whole.  But  now, 
on  awakening,  I  felt  myself  blown  upon  by  a  cold  ghost- 
breath,  which  I  could  nowise  deduce  from  the  distant  bolted 
window  ;  a  point  I  had  rightly  decided,  for  the  Dragoon  was 
producing  the  phenomenon  through  the  key-hole  by  a 
pair  of  bellows.  Every  sort  of  coldness  in  the  night-season 
reminds  you  of  clay-coldness  and  spectre-coldness.  I  sum- 
moned my  resolution,  however,  and  abode  the  issue  ;  but 
now  the  very  coverlid  began  to  get  in  motion  ;  I  pulled  it 
towards  me ;  it  would  not  stay  ;  sharply  I  sit  upright  in  my 
bed,  and  cry  :  "  What  is  that  ?  "  No  answer  ;  everywhere 
silence  in  the  Inn;  the  whole  room  full  of  moonshine.  And 
now  my  drawing-plaster,  my  coverlid,  actually  rose  up,  and 
let  in  the  air;  at  which  I  felt  like  a  wounded  man  whose 
cataplasm  you  suddenly  pull  off.  In  this  crisis,  I  made  a 
bold  leap  from  this  Devil's-torus,  and,  leaping,  snapped 
asunder  my  somnambulist  tether.  "  Where  is  the  silly 
human  fool,"  cried  I,  "  that  dares  to  ape  the  unseen  sublime 
world    of   Spirits,   which  may,  in  the  instant,  open    befor 

15.  After  the  manner  of  the  fine  polished  English  folding-knives 
there  are  now  also  folding-war-swords,  or,  in  other  words  —  Treaties 
of  Peace. 

13.  Omnibus  una  salus  Sanctis,  sed  gloria  dispar ;  that  is  to 
say  (as  Divines  once  taught),  according  to  Saint  Paul,  we  have  all 
the  same  Beatitude  in  Heaven,  but  different  degrees  of  Honor. 
Here,  on  Earth,  we  find  a  shadow  of  this  in  the  writing  world  ;  for 


196 


RICHTER. 


him  ?  "  But  on,  above,  under  the  bed,  there  was  nothing 
to  be  heard  or  seen.  I  looked  out  of  the  window ;  every- 
where spectral  moonlight  and  street-stillness  ;  nothing  mov- 
ing except  (probably  from  the  wind),  on  the  distant  Gallows- 
hill,  a  person  lately  hanged. 

Any  man  would  have  taken  it  for  self-deception  as  well 
as  I;  therefore  I  again  wrapped  myself  in  my  passive  lit 
de  justice  and  air-bed,  and  waited  with  calmness  to  see 
whether  my  fright  would  subside  or  not. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  coverlid,  the  infernal  Faust's-mantle, 
again  began  flying  and  towing;  also,  byway  of  change, 
the  invisible  bed-maker  again  lifted  me  up.  Accursed  hour! 
—  I  should  beg  to  know  whether,  in  the  whole  of  cultivated 
Europe,  there  is  one  cultivated  or  uncultivated  man,  who,  in 
a  case  of  this  kind,  would  not  have  lighted  on  ghost-devilry  ? 
I  lighted  on  it,  under  my  piece  of  (self)  movable  property, 
my  coverlid  ;  and  thought  Berga  had  died  suddenly,  and 
was  now,  in  spirit,  laying  hold  of  my  bed.  However,  I 
could  not  speak  to  her,  nor  as  little  to  the  Devil,  who  might 
well  be  supposed  to  have  a  hand  in  the  game  ;  but  I  turned 
myself  solely  to  Heaven,  and  prayed  aloud  :  "  To  thee  I 
commit  myself;  thou  alone  heretofore  hast  cared  for  thy 
weak  servant;  and  I  swear  that  I  will  turn  a  new  leaf,1'  — 
a  promise  which  shall  be  kept  nevertheless,  though  the 
whole  was  but  stupid  treachery  and  trick. 

My  prayer  had  no  effect  with  the  unchristian  Dragoon, 
who  now,  once  for  all,  had  got  me  prisoner  in  the  dragnet 
of   a   coverlid  ;    and  heeded  little   whether  a  guest's    bed 

the  Beatitude  of  authors  once  beatified  by  Criticism,  whether  they 
be  genial,  good,  mediocre,  or  poor,  is  the  same  throughout;  they  all 
obtain  the  same  pecuniary  Felicity,  the  same  slender  profit.  But, 
Heavens  !  in  regard  to  the  degrees  of  Fame,  again,  how  far  (in  spite 
of  the  same  emolument  and  sale)  will  a  Dunce,  even  in  his  life- 
time, be  put  below  a  Genius  !     Is  not  a  shallow  writer  frequently 


SCHMELZLE'S    JOURNEY    TO    FLAETZ.  197 

were,  by  his  means,  made  a  state-bed  and  death-bed  or  not. 
He  span  out  my  nerves,  like  gold-wire  through  smaller  and 
smaller  holes,  to  utter  inanition  and  evanition,  for  the  bed- 
clothes at  last  literally  marched  off  to  the  door  of  the  room. 
Now  was  the  moment  to  rise  into  the  sublime,  and  to 
trouble  myself  no  longer  about  aught  here  below,  but  softly 
to  devote  myself  to  death.  "  Snatch  me  away,"  cried  I, 
and,  without  thinking,  cut  three  crosses  ;  "  quick,  dispatch 
me,  ye  ghosts  ;  I  die  more  innocent  than  thousands  of  ty- 
rants and  blasphemers,  to  whom  ye  yet  appear  not,  but  to 
unpolluted  me."  Here  I  heard  a  sort  of  laugh,  either  on 
the  street  or  in  the  side-room.  At  this  warm  human  tone,  I 
suddenly  bloomed  up  again,  as  at  the  coming  of  a  new 
Spring,  in  every  twig  and  leaf.  Wholly  despising  the  wing- 
ed coverlid,  which  was  not  now  to  be  picked  from  the  door, 
I  laid  myself  down  uncovered,  but  warm  and  perspiring 
from  other  causes,  and  soon  fell  asleep.  For  the  rest,  I  am 
not  the  least  ashamed,  in  the  face  of  all  refined  capital 
cities,  —  though  they  were  standing  here  at  my  hand,  — 
that,  by  this  Devil-belief  and  Devil-address,  I  have  attained 
some  likeness  to  our  great  German  Lion,  to  Luther. 


Second  Day  in  Fldtz. 

Early  in  the  morning,  I  felt  myself  awakened  by  the 
well-known  coverlid ;  it  had  laid  itself  on  me  like  a  night- 
mare ;  I  gaped   up  ;  quiet,  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  sat  a 

forgotten  in  a  single  Fair  ?  while  a  deep  writer,  or  even  a  writer  of 
genius,  will  blossom  through  fifty  Fairs,  and  so  may  celebrate  his 
Twenty-five  Years'  Jubilee,  before,  late  forgotten,  he  is  lowered 
into  the  German  Temple  of  Fame  ;  a  Temple  imitating  the  pecu- 
liarity of  the  Padrl  Lucchesi  churches  in  Naples,  which  (according 
to  Volkmann)  permit  burials  under  their  roofs,  but  no  tombstone. 
17* 


198  RICHTER. 

red,  round,  blooming,  decorated  girl,  like  a  full-blown  tulip 
in  the  freshness  of  life,  and  gently  rustling  with  gay  ribbons 
as  with  leaves. 

"Who's  there  —  how  came  you  in?"  cried  I,  half- 
blind. 

"  I  covered  thee  softly,  and  thought  to  let  thee  sleep," 
said  Bergelchen  ;  "  I  have  walked  all  night  to  be  here  early; 
do  but  look!" 

She  showed  me  her  boots,  the  only  remnant  of  her  trav- 
elling-gear, which,  in  the  moulting  process  of  the  toilette, 
she  had  not  stript  at  the  gate  of  Flatz. 

"  Is  there,"  said  I,  alarmed  at  her  coming  six  hours 
sooner,  and  the  more,  as  I  had  been  alarmed  all  night  and 
was  still  so,  at  her  mysterious  entrance;  "is  there  some 
fresh  woe  come  over  us,  fire,  murder,  robbery  ? " 

She  answered :  "  The  old  Rat  thou  hast  chased  so  long 
died  yesterday  ;  farther  there  was  nothing  of  importance." 

"And  all  has  been  managed  rightly,  and  according  to  my 
Letter  of  Instructions,  at  home  ?  "  inquired  I. 

"Yes,  truly,"  answered  she;  "only  I  did  not  see  the 
Letter ;  it  is  lost ;  thou  hast  packed  it  among  thy  clothes." 

Well,  I  could  not  but  forgive  the  blooming,  brave  pedes- 
trian all  omissions.  Her  eye,  then  her  heart  was  bringing 
fresh  cool  morning  air  and  morning  red  into  my  sultry 
hours.  And  yet,  for  this  kind  soul,  looking  into  life  with 
such  love  and  hope,  I  must  in  a  little  while  overcloud  the 
merited  Heaven  of  to-day,  with  tidings  of  my  failure  in  the 
Catechetical  Professorship!  I  dallied  and  postponed  to  the 
utmost.     I  asked  how  she  had  got  in,  as  the  whole  chevaux- 


79.  Weak  and  wrong  heads  are  the  hardest  to  change  ;  and  their 
inward  man  acquires  a  scanty  covering  ;  thus  capons  never  moult. 

69.  In  times  of  misfortune,  the  Ancients  supported  themselves 
with  Philosophy  or  Christianity  ;  the   moderns  again  (for  example 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  199 

de-frise  barricado  of  chairs  was  still  standing  fast  at  the 
door-  She  laughed  heartily,  curtseying  in  village  fashion, 
and  said,  she  had  planned  it  with  her  brother  the  day  before 
yesterday,  knowing  my  precautions  in  locking,  that  he 
should  admit  her  into  my  room,  that  so  she  might  cunningly 
awaken  me.  And  now  bolted  the  Dragoon  with  loud  laugh- 
ter into  the  apartment,  and  cried  :  "  Slept  well,  brother?  " 

In  this  wise  truly  the  whole  ghost-story  was  now  solved 
and  expounded,  as  if  by  the  pen  of  a  Biester  or  a  Hennings. 
I  instantly  saw  through  the  entire  ghost-scheme  which  our 
Dragoon  had  executed.  With  some  bitterness  I  told  him 
my  conjecture,  and  his  sister  my  story.  But  he  lied  and 
laughed  ;  nay,  attempted  shamelessly  enough  to  palm  spec- 
tre-notions on  me  a  second  time,  in  open  day.  I  answered 
coldly,  that  in  me  he  had  found  the  wrong  man,  granting 
even  that  I  had  some  similarity  with  Luther,  with  Hobbes, 
with  Brutus,  all  of  whom  had  seen  and  dreaded  ghosts.  He 
replied,  tearing  the  facts  away  from  their  originating  causes  : 
UA11  he  could  say  was,  that  last  night  he  had  heard  some 
poor  sinner  creaking  and  lamenting  dolefully  enough  ;  and 
from  this  he  had  inferred  it  must  be  an  unhappy  brother 
set  upon  by  goblins." 

In  the  end,  his  sister's  eyes  also  were  opened  to  the  low 
character  which  he  had  tried  to  act  with  me ;  she  sharply 
flew  at  him,  pushed  him  with  both  hands  out  of  his  and 
my  door,  and  called  after  him  :  "  Wait,  thou  villain,  I  will 
mind  it !  " 

in  the  reign  of  Terror)  take  to  Pleasure  ;  as  the  wounded  Buffalo, 
for  bandage  and  salve,  rolls  himself  in  the  mire. 

181.  God  be  thanked  that  we  live  nowhere  forever  except  in 
Hell  or  Heaven  ;  on  Earth  otherwise  we  should  grow  to  be  the 
veriest  rascals,  and  the  World  a  House  of  Incurables,  for  want  of 
the  dog-doctor  (the  Hangman),  and  the  issue-cord  (on  the  Gallows), 
and  the   sulphur  and  chalybeate  medicines   (on  Battle-fields).     So 


200  RICHTER. 

Then  hastily  turning  round,  she  fell  on  my  neck,  and 
(at  the  wrong  place)  into  laughter,  and  said  :  "  The  wild 
fool  !  But  I  could  not  keep  my  laugh  another  minute,  and 
he  was  not  to  see  it.  Forgive  the  ninny,  thou  a  learned  man, 
his  ass  pranks  ;  what  can  one  expect  ?  " 

I  inquired  whether  she,  in  her  nocturnal  travelling,  had 
not  met  any  spectral  persons  ;  though  I  knew  that  to  her 
a  wild  beast,  a  river,  a  half  abyss,  are  nothing.  No,  she 
had  not;  but  the  gay-dressed  town's-people,  she  said,  had 
scared  her  in  the  morning.  O !  how  I  do  love  these  soft 
Harmonica-quiverings  of  female  fright ! 

At  last,  however,  I  was  forced  to  bite  or  cut  the  coloquin- 
ta-apple,  and  give  her  the  half  of  it;  I  mean  the  news  of 
my  rejected  petition  for  the  Catechetical  Professorship. 
Wishing  to  spare  this  joyful  heart  the  rudeness  of  the  whole 
truth,  and  to  subtract  something  from  a  heavy  burden, 
more  fit  for  the  shoulders  of  a  man,  I  began  :  "  Bergelchen, 
the  Professorship  affair  is  taking  another,  though  still  a  good 
enough  course  ;  the  General,  whom  may  the  Devil  and  his 
Grandmother  teach  sense,  will  not  be  taken  except  by 
storm  ;  and  storm  he  shall  have,  as  certainly  as  I  have  on 
my  nightcap." 

"  Then,  thou  art  nothing  yet  ? "  inquired  she. 

"  For  the  moment,  indeed,  not !  "  answered  L 

u  But  before  Saturday  night  ? "  said  she. 

II  Not  quite,"  said  I. 

11  Then  am  I  sore  stricken,  and  could  leap  out  of  the 
window,"  said  she,  and  turned  away  her  rosy  face,  to  hide 
its  wet  eyes,  and   was  silent   very  long.     Then,  with  pain- 


that  we  too  find  our  gigantic  moral  force  dependent  on  the  Debt  of 
Nature  which  we  have  to  pay,  exactly  as  your  politicians  (for  exam- 
ple, the  Author  of  the  New  Leviathan)  demonstrate  that  the  English 
have  their  National  Debt  to  thank  for  their  superiority. 


201 

fully  quivering  voice,  she  began  :  "  Good  Christ  stand  by 
me  at  Neusattel  on  Sunday,  when  these  high-prancing 
prideful  dames  look  at  me  in  church,  and  I  grow  scarlet  for 
shame  !  " 

Here  in  sympathetic  woe  I  sprang  out  of  bed  to  the  dear 
soul,  over  whose  brightly  blooming  cheeks  warm  tears  were 
rolling,  and  cried  :  "  Thou  true  heart,  do  not  tear  me  in 
pieces  so  !  May  I  die,  if  yet  in  these  dog-days  I  become 
not  all  and  everything  that  thou  wishest !  Speak,  wilt  thou 
be  Mining-rathin,  Build-rathin,  Court-rathin,  War-rathin, 
Chamber-rathin,  Commerce-rathin,  Legations-rathin,  or 
Devil  and  his  Dam's  rathin  ;  I  am  here,  and  will  buy  it,  and 
be  it.  To-morrow  I  send  riding  posts  to  Saxony  and 
Hessia,  to  Prussia  and  Russia,  to  Friesland  and  Katzenellen- 
bogen,  and  demand  patents.  Nay,  I  will  carry  matters 
farther  than  another,  and  be  all  things  at  once,  Flachsen- 
fingen  Court-rath,  Scheerau  Excise-rath,  Haarhaar  Build- 
ing-rath, Pestitz*  Chamber-rath  (for  we  have  the  cash)  ; 
and  thus,  alone  and  single-handed,  represent  with  one  podex 
and  corpus  a  whole  Rath-session  of  select  Raths  ;  and  stand, 
a  complete  Legion  of  Honor,  on  one  single  pair  of  legs ; 
the  like  no  man  ever  did." 

"  O  !  now  thou  art  angel-good  !  "  said  she,  and  glad- 
der tears  rolled  down ;  "  thou  shalt  counsel  me  thyself 
which  are  the  finest  Raths,  and  these  we  will  be." 

"  No,"  continued  I,  in  the  fire  of  the  moment,  "  neither 

63.  To  apprehend  danger  from  the  Education  of  the  People 
is  like  fearing  lest  the  thunderbolt  strike  into  the  house  because 
it  has  icindows ;  whereas  the  lightning  never  comes  through  these, 
but  through  their  lead  framing,  or  down  by  the  smoke  of  the 
chimney. 

*  Cities  of  Richter's  romance  kingdom.  Flachsenfingen  he  some- 
times calls  Klein-Wien,  Little  Vienna.  —  Ed. 


202  RICHTER. 

shall  this  serve  us  ;  to  me  it  is  not  enough  that  to  Mrs. 
Chaplain  thou  canst  announce  thyself  as  Building-rathin,  to 
Mrs.  Town-parson  as  Legations-rathin,to  Mrs.  Burgermeister 
as  Court-rathin,  to  Mrs  Road-and-toll-surveyor  as  Com- 
merce-rathin,  or  how  and  where  thou  pleasest " 

"  Ah  !     my  own  too  good  Attelchen  !"  said  she. 

"  —  But,"  continued  I,  "  I  shall  likewise  become  corre- 
sponding member  of  the  several  Learned  Societies  in  the 
several  best  capital  cities  (among  which  I  have  only  to 
choose)  ;  and  truly  no  common  actual  member,  but  a  whole 
honorary  member ;  then  thee,  as  another  honorary  mem- 
ber, growing  out  of  my  honorary-membership,  I  uplift  and 
exalt." 

Pardon  me,  my  Friends,  this  warm  cataplasm,  or  decep- 
tion-balsam for  a  wounded  breast,  whose  blood  is  so  pure 
and  precious,  that  one  may  be  permitted  to  endeavor,  with 
all  possible  stanching-lints  and  spiderwebs,  to  drive  it  back 
into  the  fair  heart,  its  home. 

But  now  came  bright  and  brightest  hours.  I  had  con- 
quered Time,  I  had  conquered  myself  and  Berga  ;  seldom 
does  a  conqueror,  as  I  did,  bless  both  the  victorious  and  the 
vanquished  party.  Berga  called  back  her  former  Heaven, 
and  pulled  off  her  dusty  boots,  and  on  her  flowery  shoes. 
Precious  morning  beverage,  intoxicating  to  a  heart  that 
loves  !  I  felt  (if  the  low  figure  may  be  permitted)  a  double- 
beer  of  courage  in  me,  now  that  I  had  one  being  more  to 
protect.  In  general  it  is  my  nature  —  which  the  honora- 
ble  Premier  seems   not  to   be    fully  aware  of — to    grow 


76.  Your  economical,  preaching  Poetry  apparently  supposes  that 
a  surgical  Stone-cutter  is  an  Artistical  one;  and  a  Pulpit  or  a  Sinai 
a  Hill  of  the  Muses. 

115.  According  to  Smith,  the  universal  measure  of  economical 
value  is  Labor.     This  fact,  at  least  in  regard  to   spiritual  and  poeti- 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  2U3 

bolder  not  among  the  bold,  but  fastest  among  poltroons,  the 
bad  example  acting  on  me  by  the  rule  of  contraries.  Little 
touches  may  in  this  case  shadow  forth  man  and  wife 
without  casting  them  into  the  shade.  When  the  trim  waiter 
with  his  green  silk  apron  brought  up  cracknels  for  break- 
fast, and  I  told  him  :  "  Johann,  for  two  !  "  Berga  said  : 
M  He  would  oblige  her  very  much,"  and  called  him  Herr 
Johann. 

Bergelchen,  more  familiar  with  rural  burghs  than  capital 
cities,  felt  a  good  deal  amazed  and  alarmed  at  the  cofFee- 
trays,  dressing-tables,  paper-hangings,  sconces,  alabaster 
inkholders,  with  Egyptian  emblems,  as  well  as  at  the  gilt 
bell-handle,  lying  ready  for  any  one  to  pull  out  or  to  push 
in.  Accordingly,  she  had  not  courage  to  walk  through  the 
hall,  with  its  lustres,  purely  because  a  whistling,  whiffling 
Cap-and-feather  was  gesturing  up  and  down  in  it.  Nay, 
her  poor  heart  was  like  to  fail  when  she  peeped  out  of  the 
window  at  so  many  gay,  promenading  town's  people  (I  was 
briskly  that  in  a  little  while,  at  my  side,  she  must  break 
into  whistling  a  Gascon  air  down  over  them) ;  and  thought 
the  middle  of  this  dazzling  courtly  throng.  In  a  case  like 
this,  reasons  are  of  less  avail  than  examples.  I  tried  to 
elevate  my  Bergelchen,  by  reciting  some  of  my  nocturnal 
dream-feats  ;  for  example,  how,  riding  on  a  whale's  back, 
with  a  three-pronged  fork,  I  had  pierced  and  eaten  three 
eagles;  and  by  more  of  the  like  sort;  but  I  produced  no 
effect ;  perhaps,  because  to  the  timid  female  heart  the  battle- 
field was  presented  rather  than  the  conqueror,  the  abyss 
rather  than  the  overleaper  of  it. 


cal  value,  we  Germans  had  discovered  before  Smith  ;  and  to  my 
knowledge,  we  have  always  preferred  the  learned  poet  to  the  poet 
of  genius,  and  the  heavy  book  full  of  labor  to  the  light  one  full  of 
sport. 


204  RICHTER. 

At  this  time  a  sheaf  of  newspapers  was  brought  me,  full 
of  gallant,  decisive  victories.    And  though  these  happen  only 
on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  are  just  so   many  defeats,  yet 
the   former  somehow   assimilate   more   with  my  blood  than 
the  latter,  and  inspire  me  (as  Schiller's  Robbers  used  to  do) 
with  a  strange  inclination  to  lay  hold   of  some   one,    and 
thrash  and  curry  him  on  the  spot.    Unluckily  for  the  waiter, 
he  had   chanced  even  now,  like  a  military  host,  to  stand  a 
triple    bell-order    for    march,    before    he    would    leave    his 
ground  and  come    up.     "  Sir,"  began   I,  my  head   full   of 
battle-fields,   and   my  arm  of  inclination  to  baste  him  ;  and 
Berga  feared  the  very  worst,  as  I  gave   her  the  well-known 
anger  and  alarm  signal,  namely,  shoved   up  my  cap  to  my 
hindhead — "  Sir,  is  this  your  way  of  treating  guests  ?    Why 
don't  you  come  promptly  ?    Don't  come  so  again  ;  and  now 
be   going,   friend  !  "     Although  his  retreat  was  my  victory, 
I  still  kept  briskly  cannonading  on  the   field   of  action,  and 
fired  the  louder  (to  let  him  hear  it),  the  more   steps  he  de- 
scended in  his  flight.     Bergelchen, —  who  felt  quite  horror- 
struck   at   my  fury,  particularly  in  a  quite   strange   house, 
and  at  a  quality  waiter  with  silk  apron,   mustered  all  her 
soft  words  against  the  wild  ones  of  a  man-of-war,  and  spoke 
of  dangers  that    might  follow.      "  Dangers,"   answered   I, 
"  are  just  what   I   seek  ;  but  for  a  man   there  are  none;  in 
all  cases  he  will  either  conquer  or  evade  them,  either  show 
them  front  or  back." 

I  could  scarcely  lay  aside  this  indignant  mood,  so  sweet 
was  it  to  me,  and  so  much  did  I  feel  refreshed  by  the  fire 
of  rage,  and  quickened   in   my  breast  as   by   a  benignant 


4.  The  Hypocrite  does  not  imitate  the  old  practice,  of  cutting 
fruit  by  a  knife  poisoned  only  on  the  one  side,  and  giving  the 
poisoned  side  to  the  victim,  the  cutter  eating  the  sound  side  him- 
self; on  the  contrary,  he  so  disinterestedly  inverts  this  practice, 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.     205 

stimulant.  It  belongs  certainly  to  the  class  of  Unrecognized 
Mercies  (on  which,  in  ancient  times,  special  sermons  were 
preached),  that  one  is  never  more  completely  in  his  Heaven 
and  Monplaisir  (a  pleasure-palace),  than  while  in  the  midst 
of  right  hearty  storming  and  indignation.  Heavens  !  what 
might  not  a  man  of  weight  accomplish  in  this  new  walk  of 
charity  !  The  gall  bladder  is  for  us  the  chief  swimming- 
bladder  and  Montgolfier ;  and  the  filling  of  it  costs  us  noth- 
ing but  a  contumelious  word  or  two  from  some  bystander. 
And  does  not  the  whirlwind  Luther,  with  whom  I  nowise 
compare  myself,  confess,  in  his  Table-talk,  that  he  never 
preached,  sung,  or  prayed  so  well,  as  while  in  a  rage  ? 
Truly,  he  was  a  man  sufficient  of  himself  to  rouse  many 
others  into  rage. 

The  whole  morning  till  noon  now  passed  in  viewing 
sights,  and  trafficking  for  wares ;  and  indeed,  for  the  great- 
est part,  in  the  broad  street  of  our  Hotel.  Berga  needed 
but  to  press  along  with  me  into  the  market  throng  ;  needed 
but  to  look,  and  see  that  she  was  decorated  more  accord- 
ing to  the  fashion  than  hundreds  like  her.  But  soon,  in 
her  care  for  household  gear,  she  forgot  that  of  dress,  and 
in  the  potter-market  the  toilette-table  faded  from  her 
thoughts. 

I,  for  my  share,  full  of  true  tedium,  while  gliding  after 
her  through  her  various  marts,  with  their  long  cheapenings 
and  chafferings,  merely  acted  the  Philosopher  hid  within 
me.  I  weighed  this  empty  Life,  and  the  heavy  value  which 
is  put  upon  it,  and  the  daily  anxiety  of  man  lest  it,  this 
lightest  down-feather  of  the  Earth,  fly  off,  and  feather  him, 
and  take  him  with   it.     These  thoughts,  perhaps,   I   owe   to 

that  to  others  he  shows  and  gives  the   sound   moral  half,  or  side, 
and  retains  for  himself  the  poisoned  one.    Heavens!  compared  with 
such  a  man,  how  wicked  does  the  Devil  seem  ! 
VOL.  II.  18 


206 


RICHTER. 


the  street-fry  of  boys,  who  were  turning  their  market-free- 
dom to  account,  by  throwing  stones  at  one  another  all  round 
me  ;  for  in  the  midst  of  this  tumult  I  vividly  figured  myself 
to  be  a  man  who  had  never  seen  war ;  and  who,  therefore, 
never  having  experienced  that  often  of  a  thousand  bullets 
not  one  wilt  hit,  feels  apprehensive  of  these  few  silly  stones 
lest  they  beat  in  his  nose  and  eyes.  O  !  it  is  the  battle- 
field alone  that  sows,  manures,  and  nourishes  true  courage, 
courage  even  for  daily,  domestic,  and  smallest  perils.  For 
not  till  he  comes  from  the  battle-field  can  a  man  both  sing 
and  cannonade  ;  like  the  canary-bird,  which,  though  so  me- 
lodious, so  timid,  so  small,  so  tender,  so  solitary,  so  soft- 
feathered,  can  yet  be  trained  to  fire  off  cannon,  though  can- 
non of  smaller  calibre. 

jg  After  dinner  (in  our  room)  we  issued  from  the  Purgatory 
of  the  market-tumult,  —  where  Berga,  at  every  booth,  had 
something  to  order,  and  load  her  attendant  maid  with, — 
into  Heaven,  into  the  Dog  Inn,  as  the  best  Flatz  public  and 
pleasure-house  without  the  gates  is  named,  where,  in  market 
time,  hundreds  turn  in,  and  see  thousands  going  by.  On 
the  way  thither,  my  little  wife,  my  elbow-tendril,  as  it  were, 
had  extracted  from  me  such  a  measure  of  courage,  that, 
while  going  through  the  Gate  (where  I,  aware  of  the  mil- 
itary order,  that  you  must  not  pass  near  the  sentry,  threw 
myself  over  to  the  other  side),  she  quietly  glided  on,  close 
by  the  very  guns  and  fixed  bayonets  of  the  City  Guard. 
Outside  the  wall,  I  could  direct  her,  with  my  finger,  to  the 
bechained,  begrated,  gigantic  Schabacker-Palace,  mounting 


67.  Individual  Minds,  nay,  Political  Bodies,  are  like  organic 
bodies ;  extract  the  interior  air  from  them,  the  atmosphere  crushes 
them  together ;  pump  off  under  the  bell  the  exterior  resisting 
air,  the  interior  inflates  and  bursts  them.  Therefore  let  every  State 
keep  up  its  internal  and  its  external  resistance  both  at  once. 


207 

up  even  externally  on  stairs,  where  I  last  night  had  called 
and  (it  may  be)  stormed  :  "  I  had  rather  take  a  peep  at  the 
Giant,"  said  she,  "  and  the  Dwarf;  why  else  are  we  under 
one  roof  with  them  ?  " 

In  the  pleasure-house  itself  we  found  sufficient  pleasure ; 
encircled,  as  we  were,  with  blooming  faces  and  meadows. 
In  my  secret  heart,  I  all  along  kept  looking  down,  with 
success,  on  Schabacker's  refusal ;  and  till  midnight  made 
myself  a  happy  day  of  it.  I  had  deserved  it,  Berga  still 
more.  Nevertheless,  about  one  in  the  morning,  I  was  des- 
tined to  find  a  windmill  to  tilt  with ;  a  windmill,  which  truly 
lays  about  it  with  somewhat  longer,  stronger,  and  more 
numerous  arms  than  a  giant,  for  which  Don  Quixote  might 
readily  enough  have  taken  it.  On  the  market  place,  for 
reasons  more  easily  fancied  than  specified  in  words,  I  let 
Berga  go  along  some  twenty  paces  before  me  ;  and  I  my- 
self, for  these  foresaid  reasons,  retire  without  malice  behind 
a  covered  booth,  the  tent  most  probably  of  some  rude  trader  ; 
and  linger  there  a  moment  according  to  circumstances.  Lo  ! 
steering  hither  with  dart  and  spear,  comes  the  Booth-watcher, 
and  coins  and  stamps  me  on  the  spot,  into  a  filcher  and 
housebreaker  of  his  Booth-street ;  though  the  simpleton  sees 
nothing  but  that  I  am  standing  in  the  corner,  and  doing 
anything  but  —  taking.  A  sense  of  honor  without  callosity 
is  never  blunted  for  such  attacks.  But  how  in  the  dead  of 
night  was  a  man  of  this  kind,  who  had  nothing  in  his  head 
—  at  the  utmost  beer,  instead  of  brains  —  to  be  enlightened 
on  the  truth  of  the  matter  ? 

I  shall  not  conceal  my  perilous  resource  ;  I  seized  the 
fox  by  the  tail,  as  we  say  ;  in  other  words,  I  made  as  if  I 


8.  In  great  Saloons,  the  real  stove  is  masked  into  a  pretty  orna- 
mented sham  stove  ;  so,  likewise,  it  is  fit  and  pretty  that  a  virgin 
Love  should  always  hide  itself  in  an  interesting  virgin  Friendship. 


208  1UCHTER. 

had  been  muddled,  and  knew  not  rightly,  in  my  liquor, 
what  I  was  about.  I  therefore  mimicked  everything  I  was 
master  of  in  this  department ;  staggered  hither  and  thither ; 
splayed  out  my  feet  like  a  dancing-master;  got  into  zigzag 
in  spite  of  all  efforts  at  the  straight  line  ;  nay,  I  knocked 
my  good  head  (perhaps  one  of  the  clearest  and  emptiest 
of  the  night)  like  a  full  one,  against  real  posts. 

However,  the  Booth-bailiff,  who  probably  had  been 
oftener  drunk  than  I,  and  knew  the  symptoms  better,  or 
even  felt  them  in  himself  at  this  moment,  looked  upon  the 
whole  exhibition  as  mere  craft,  and  shouted  dreadfully  : 
"  Stop,  rascal ;  thou  art  no  more  drunk  than  I !  I  know  thee 
of  old.  Stand,  I  say,  till  I  speak  to  thee!  Wouldst  have 
thy  long  finger  in  the  market,  too  ?  Stand,  dog,  or  I  '11 
make  thee  !  " 

You  see  the  whole  nodus  of  the  matter.  I  whisked  away 
zigzag  among  the  booths  as  fast  as  possible,  from  the  claws 
of  this  rude  Tosspot  ;  yet  he  still  hobbled  after  me.  But 
my  Teutoberga,  who  had  heard  somewhat  of  it,  came  run- 
ning back  ;  clutched  the  tipsy  market-warder  by  the  collar, 
and  said  (shrieking,  it  is  true,  in  village  wise)  :  "  Stupid  sot, 
go  sleep  the  drink  our  of  thy  head,  or  I  '11  teach  thee  !  Dost 
know,  then,  whom  thou  art  speaking  to?  My  husband, 
Army-chaplain  Schmelzle  under  General  and  Minister  von 
Schabacker  at  Pimpelstadt,  thou  blockhead  !  —  Fye  !  Take 
shame,  fellow !"  The  watchman  mumbled:  "Meant  no 
harm,"  and  reeled  about  his  business.  u  O  thou  Lioness!  " 
said  I,  in  the  transport  of  love,  "  why  hast  thou  never  been 
in  any  deadly  peril,  that  I  might  show  thee  the  Lion  in  thy 
husband  !  " 

Thus  lovingly   we   both   reached  home  ;  and   perhaps  in 

12.  Nations  — unlike  rivers,  which  precipitate  their  impurities  in 
level  places  and  when  at  rest  —  drop  their   baseness  just  whilst  in 


JOURNEY    TO    FLAETZ.  209 

the  sequel  of  this  Fair  day  might  still  have  enjoyed  a  glori- 
ous after-midnight,  had  not  the  Devil  led  my  eye  to  the  ninth 
volume  of  Lichtenberg's  Works,  and  the  206th  page,  where 
this  passage  occurs  :  "  It  is  not  impossible,  that,  at  a  future 
period,  our  Chemists  may  light  on  some  means  of  suddenly 
decomposing  the  Atmosphere  by  a  sort  of  Ferment.  In 
this  way  the  world  may  be  destroyed."  Ah  !  true  indeed  ! 
Since  the  Earth-ball  is  lapped  up  in  the  larger  Atmospheric 
ball,  let  but  any  chemical  scoundrel,  in  the  remotest  scoun- 
drel-island, say  in  New  Holland,  devise  some  decomposing 
substance  for  the  Atmosphere,  like  what  a  spark  of  fire 
would  be  for  a  powder-wagon ;  in  a  few  seconds,  the  mon- 
strous devouring  world-storm  catches  me  and  you  in  Flatz 
by  the  throat;  my  breathing,  and  the  like,  in  this  choak- 
air  is  over,  and  the  whole  game  ended !  The  Earth  be- 
comes a  boundless  gallows,  where  the  very  cattle  are  hang- 
ed ;  worm-powder,  and  bug-liquor,  Bradly  ant-ploughs,  and 
rat-poison,  and  wolf-traps  are,  in  this  universal  world-trap 
and  world-poison,  no  longer  specially  needful  ;  and  the 
Devil  takes  the  whole,  in  the  Bartholomew-night,  when  this 
cursed  "  Ferment  "  is  invented. 

From  the  true  soul,  however,  I  concealed  these  deadly 
Night  Thoughts ;  seeing  she  would  either  painfully  have 
sympathized  in  them,  or  else  mirthfully  laughed  at  them. 
I  merely  gave  orders  that  next  morning  (Saturday)  she  was 
to  be  standing  booted  and  ready,  at  the  outset  of  the  return- 
ing coach  ;  if  so  were  she  would  have  me  speedily  fulfil  her 
wishes  in   regard  to  that  stock  of  Rathships  which  lay  so 


the  most  violent  motion  ;  and  become  the  dirtier  the  farther  they 
flow  along  through  lazy  flats. 

28.  When  Nature  takes  the  huge  old  Earth-round,  the  Earth- 
loaf,  and  kneads  it  up  again,  for  the  purpose  of  introducing,  under 

18* 


210 


RICHTER, 


near  her  heart.  She  rejoiced  in  my  purpose,  gladly  sur- 
rendering the  market  for  such  prospects.  1  too  slept  sound, 
my  great  toe  tied  to  her  finger  the  whole  night  through. 

The  Dragoon  next  morning  twitched  me  by  the  ear,  and 
secretly  whispered  into  it  that  he  had  a  pleasant  fairing  to 
give  his  sister ;  and  so  would  ride  off  somewhat  early,  on 
the  nag  he  had  yesterday  purchased  of  the  horse-dealer. 
I  thanked  him  beforehand. 

At  the  appointed  hour  all  gaily  started  from  the  Staple, 
I  excepted  ;  for  I  still  retained,  even  in  the  fairest  daylight, 
that  nocturnal  DeviPs-Ferment  and  Decomposition  (of  my 
cerebral  globe  as  well  as  of  the  Earth-globe)  fermenting  in 
my  head  ;  a  proof  that  the  night  had  not  affected  me,  or 
exaggerated  my  fear.  The  Blind  Passenger,  whom  I  liked 
so  ill,  also  mounted  along  with  us,  and  looked  at  me  as  usual, 
but  without  effect ;  for  on  this  occasion,  when  the  destruction 
not  of  myself  only,  but  of  worlds,  was  occupying  my 
thoughts,  the  Passenger  was  nothing  to  me  but  a  joke  and 
a  show  ;  as  a  man,  while  his  leg  is  a-sawing  off,  does  not 
feel  the  throbbing  of  his  heart ;  or  amid  the  humming  of 
cannon,  does  not  guard  himself  from  that  of  wasps  ;  so  to 
me  any  Passenger,  with  all  the  fire-brands  he  might  throw 
into  my  near  or  distant  Future,  could  appear  but  ludicrous, 
at  a  time  when  I  was  reflecting  that  the  "  Ferment "  might, 
even  in  my  journey  between  Flatz  and  Neusattel,  be,  by 
some  American  or  European  man  of  science,  quite  guilt- 
lessly experimenting  and  decomposing,  lighted  upon  by 
accident  and  let  loose.  The  question,  nay  prize-question 
now,  however,  were  this  :  "  In  how  far,  since  Lichtenberg's 


this  pie-crust,  new  stuffing  and  Dwarfs—  she  then,  for  most  part,. 
as  a  mother  when  baking  will  do  to  her  daughters,  gives  in  jest  a 
little  fraction  of  the  dough  (two  or  three  thousand  square  leagues  of 


schmelzle's  journey  to  flaetz.  211 

threatening,  it  may  not  appear  world-murderous  and  self- 
murderous,  if  enlightened  Potentates  of  chemical  nations  do 
not  enjoin  it  on  their  chemical  subjects,  —  who  in  their  de- 
compositions and  separations  may  so  easily  separate  the  soul 
from  their  body  and  unite  Heaven  with  Earth,  —  not  in  future 
to  make  any  other  chemical  experiments  than  those  already 
made,  which  hitherto  have  profited  the  State  rather  than 
harmed  it  ?  " 

Unfortunately,  I  continued  sunk  in  this  Doomsday  of  the 
Ferment  with  all  my  thoughts  and  meditations,  without,  in 
the  whole  course  of  our  return  from  Flatz  to  Neusattel, 
suffering  or  observing  anything,  except  that  I  actually  ar- 
rived there,  and  at  the  same  time  saw  the  Blind  Passenger 
once  more  go  his  ways. 

My  Bergelchen  alone  had  I  constantly  looked  at  by  the 
road,  partly  that  I  might  still  see  her,  so  long  as  life  and 
eyes  endured  ;  partly  that,  even  at  the  smallest  danger  to 
her,  be  it  a  great,  or  even  albover-sweeping  Deluge  and 
World's-doom,  I  might  die,  if  not  for  her,  at  least  by  her, 
and  so,  united  with  that  staunch,  true  heart,  cast  away  a 
plagued  and  plaguing  life,  in  which,  at  any  rate,  not  half 
of  my  wishes  for  her  have  been  fulfilled. 

So  then  were  my  Journey  over  —  crowned  with  some 
Historiola  ;  and  in  time  coming,  perhaps,  still  more  re- 
warded through  you,  ye  Friends  about  Flatz,  if  in  these 
pages  you  shall  find  any  well-ground  pruning-knives,  where- 
by you  may  more  readily  outroot  the  weedy  tangle  of  Lies, 
which  for  the  present  excludes  me  from  the  gallant  Schab- 
acker  —  Only  this  cursed   Ferment  still   sits  in   my   head. 

such  dough  are  enough  for  a  child)  to  some  Poetical  or    Philosoph 
ical,  or  Legislative  polisher,  that  so  the  little  elf  may  have  something 
to  be  shaping  and  manufacturing  beside  its  mother.     And  when  the 


212  RICHTER. 

Farewell,  then,  so  long  as  there  are  Atmospheres  left  us  to 
breathe.     I  wish  I  had  that  Ferment  out  of  my  head. 

Yours  always, 

Attila  Schmelzle. 

P.  S.  —  My  brother-in-law  has  kept  his  promise  well,  and 
Berga  is  dancing.     Particulars  in  my  next ! 


other  young  ones  get  a  taste  of  sisterkin's  baking,  they  all  clap 
hands,  and  cry  :  "  Aha,  Mother!  canst  bake  like  Suky  here  ?  " 


LIFE 

or 

QUINTUS     FIXLEIN 

EXTRACTED    FROM 

FIFTEEN    LETTER-BOXES, 

BY 

JEAN    PAUL. 


LETTER  TO  MY  FRIENDS, 


INSTEAD  OF  PREFACE. 


Mekchants,  Authors,  young  Ladies,  and  Quakers,  call 
all  persons,  with  whom  they  have  any  business,  Friends  ; 
and  my  readers  accordingly  are  my  table  and  college 
Friends.  Now,  at  this  time,  I  am  about  presenting  so  many 
hundred  Friends  with  just  as  many  hundred  gratis  copies  ; 
and  my  Bookseller  has  orders  to  supply  each  on  request, 
after  the  Fair,  with  his  copy — in  return  for  a  trifling  con- 
sideration and  don  gratuit  to  printers,  pressmen,  and  other 
such  persons.  But  as  I  could  not,  like  the  French  authors, 
send  the  whole  Edition  to  the  binder,  the  blank  leaf  in  front 
was  necessarily  wanting ;  and  thus  to  write  a  complimentary 
word  or  two  upon  it  was  out  of  my  power.  I  have  therefore 
caused  a  few  white  leaves  to  be  inserted  directly  after  the 
title-page  ;  on  these  we  are  now  printing. 

My  Book  contains  the  Life  of  a  Schoolmaster,  extracted 
and  compiled  from  various  public  and  private  documents. 
With  this  Biography,  dear  Friends,  it  is  the  purpose  of  the 
Author  not  so  much  to  procure  you  a  pleasure  as  to  teach 
you  how  to  enjoy  one.  In  truth,  King  Xerxes  should  have 
offered  his  prize-medals  not  for  the  invention  of  new  pleas- 
ures, but  for  a  good  methodology  and  directory  to  use  the 
old  ones. 


216  RICHTER. 

Of  ways  for  becoming  happier  (not  happy)  I  could  never 
inquire  out  more  than  three.     The  first,  rather  an  elevated 
road,  is  this :  to  soar  away  so  far  above  the  clouds  of  life, 
that  you   see  the   whole  external  world,  with  its  wolf-dens, 
charnel-houses,  and    thunder-rods,  lying  far  down  beneath 
you,  shrunk  into  a  little   child's  garden.     The  second   is : 
simply  to  sink  down  into  this   little   garden  ;    and  there  to 
nestle   yourself  so   snugly,  so   homewise,  in   some  furrow, 
that,  in  looking  out  from   your  warm  lark-nest,  you  likewise 
can   discern  no  wolf-dens,  charnel-houses,  or  thunder-rods, 
but  only  blades  and  ears,  every  one  of  which,  for  the  nest- 
bird,  is  a  tree,  and  a  sun-screen,  and  a  rain-screen.     The 
third,  finally,  which   I  look   upon   as  the   hardest  and  cun- 
ningest,  is  that  of  alternating  between  the  other  two. 
This  I  shall  now  satisfactorily  expound  to  men  at  large. 
The   Hero,  the  Reformer,  your   Brutus,  your   Howard, 
your   Republican,  he   whom  civic   storm,  or  genius   poetic 
storm,  impels ;  in  short,  every  mortal  with  a  great  Purpose, 
or  even  a  perennial   Passion  (were  it  but  that  of  writing  the 
largest  folios);  all   these   men  fence  themselves  in  by  their 
internal  world  against  the  frosts  and  heats  of  the  external, 
as   the  madman  in  a  worse  sense  does ;  every  fixed  idea, 
such  as  rules  every  genius,  every  enthusiast,  at  least  peri- 
odically, separates  and   elevates  a  man  above  the  bed  and 
board  of  this   Earth,  above  its   Dog's-grottoes,  buckthorns, 
and   Devil's-walls;  like  the   Bird  of  Paradise,  he  slumbers 
flying;    and,  on   his  outspread    pinions,   oversleeps    uncon- 
sciously the  earthquakes  and  conflagrations  of  Life,  in  his 
long  fair  dream  of  his  ideal  Mother-land.  —  Alas!  To  few 
is  this  dream  granted  ;  and  these  few  are  so  often  awakened 
by  Flying  Dogs  !  * 

This  skyward   track,  however,  is  fit  only  for  the  winged 

*  So  are  the  Vampyres  called. 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  217 

portion  of  the  human  species,  for  the  smallest.  What  can 
it  profit  poor  quill-driving  brethren,  whose  souls  have  not 
even  wing-shells,  to  say  nothing  of  wings  ?  Or  these  teth- 
ered persons  with  the  best  back,  breast,  and  neck-fins,  who 
float  motionless  in  the  wicker  Fish-box  of  the  State,  and 
are  not  allowed  to  swim,  because  the  Box  or  State,  long 
ago  tied  to  the  shore,  itself  swims  in  the  name  of  the 
Fishes  ?  To  the  whole  standing  and  writing  host  of  heavy- 
laden  State-domestics,  Purveyors,  Clerks  of  all  departments, 
and  all  the  lobsters  packed  together  heels  over  head  into 
the  Lobster-basket  of  the  Government  office-rooms,  and  for 
refreshments,  sprinkled  over  with  a  few  nettles  ;  to  these 
persons,  what  way  of  becoming  happy  here  can  I  possibly 
point  out  ? 

My  second  merely  ;  and  that  is  as  follows  :  to  take  a 
compound  microscope,  and  with  it  to  discover,  and  convince 
themselves,  that  their  drop  of  Burgundy  is  properly  a  Red 
Sea,  that  butterfly-dust  is  peacock-feathers,  mouldiness  a 
flowery-field,  and  sand  a  heap  of  jewels.  These  micro- 
scopic recreations  are  more  lasting  than  all  costly  watering- 
place  recreations.  —  But  I  must  explain  these  metaphors  by 
new  ones.  The  purpose,  for  which  I  have  sent  Fixleiri's 
Life  into  the  Messrs.  Liibeks'  Warehouse,  is  simply  that 
in  this  same  Life  —  therefore  in  this  Preface  it  is  less  need- 
ful —  I  may  show  to  the  whole  Earth  that  we  ought  to 
value  little  joys  more  than  great  ones,  the  nightgown  more 
than  the  dress-coat  ;  that  Plutus's  heaps  are  worth  less  than 
his  handfuls,  the  plum  than  the  penny  for  a  rainy  day;  and 
that  not  great,  but  little  good-haps  can  make  us  happy. — 
Can  I  accomplish  this,  I  shall,  through  means  of  my  Book, 
bring  up  for  Posterity  a  race  of  men  finding  refreshment 
in  all  things  ;  in  the  warmth  of  their  rooms  and  of  their 
night-caps;  in  their  pillows;  in  the  three  High  Festivals; 
in  mere  Apostles'   days ;    in   the    Evening   Moral    Tales  of 

VOL.    II.  19 


218 


RTCIITER. 


their  wives,  when  these  gentle  persons  have  been  forth  as 
ambassadresses  visiting  some  Dowager  Residence,  whither 
the  husband  could  not  be  persuaded  ;  in  the  bloodletting-day 
of  these  their  newsbringers ;  in  the  day  of  slaughtering, 
salting,  potting  against  the  rigor  of  grim  winter;  and  in  all 
such  days.  You  perceive,  my  drift  is  that  man  must  become 
a  little  Tailor-bird,  which,  not  amid  the  crashing  boughs 
of  the  storm-tost,  roaring,  immeasurable  tree  of  Life,  but 
on  one  of  its  leaves,  sews  itself  a  nest  together,  and  there 
lies  snug.  The  most  essential  sermon  one  could  preach 
to  our  century  were  a  sermon  on  the  duty  of  staying  at 
home. 

The  third  skyward  road  is  the  alternation  between  the 
other  two.  The  foregoing  second  way  is  not  good  enough 
for  man,  who  here  on  Earth  should  take  into  his  hand  not 
the  Sickle  only,  but  also  the  Plough.  The  first  is  too  good 
for  him.  He  has  not  always  the  force,  like  Rugendas,  in 
the  midst  of  the  Battle  to  compose  Battle-pieces  ;  and,  like 
Backhuisen  in  the  Shipwreck,  to  clutch  at  no  board  but  the 
drawing-board  to  paint  it  on.  And  then  his  pains  are  not 
less  lasting  than  his  fatigues.  Still  oftener  is  Strength 
denied  its  Arena;  it  is  but  the  smallest  portion  of  life  that, 
to  a  working  soul,  offers  Alps,  Revolutions,  Rhine-falls, 
Worms  Diets,  and  Wars  with  Xerxes  ;  and  for  the  whole 
it  is  better  so ;  the  longer  portion  of  life  is  a  field  beaten 
flat  as  a  threshing-floor,  without  lofty  Gothard  Mountains  ; 
often  it  is  a  tedious  ice-field,  without  a  single  glacier  tinged 
with  dawn. 

But  even  by  walking,  a  man  rests  and  recovers  himself 
for  climbing;  by  little  joys  and  duties,  for  great.  The 
victorious  Dictator  must  contrive  to  plough  down  his  battle 
Mars-field  into  a  flax  and  carrot  field  ;  to  transform  his 
theatre  of  war  into  a  parlor  theatre,  on  which  his  children 
may   enact  some   good  pieces  from  the  Children's  Friend. 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  219 

Can  he  accomplish  this,  can  he  turn  so  softly  from  the  path 
of  poetical  happiness  into  that  of  household  happiness, — 
then  is  he  little  different  from  myself,  who  even  now,  though 
modesty  might  forbid  me  to  disclose  it  —  who  even  now, 
I  say,  amid  the  creation  of  this  Letter,  have  been  enabled 
to  reflect,  that,  when  it  is  done,  so  also  will  the  Roses  and 
Elder-berries  of  pastry  be  done,  which  a  sure  hand  is  seeth- 
ing in  butter  for  the  Author  of  this  Work. 

As  I  purpose  appending  to  this  Letter  a  Postscript  (at  the 
end  of  the  Book),  I  reserve  somewhat  which  I  had  to  say 
about  the  Third*  half-satirical,  half-philosophical  part  of  the 
Work  till  that  opportunity. 

Here,  out  of  respect  for  the  rights  of  a  Letter,  the  Author 
drops  his  half  anonymity ,f  and  for  the  first  time  subscribes 
himself  with  his  whole  true  name, 

Jean  Paul  Friedrich  Richter. 

Hofin  Voigtland,  29th  June,  1795. 

*  Fixlein  stands  in  the  middle  of  the  volume  ;  preceded  by  Einer 
Mustheil  fur  Madchen  (A  Jelly-course  for  young  Ladies) ;  and 
followed  by  Some  Jus  de  Tablette  for  Men.  A  small  portion  of 
the  Preface  relating  to  the  first  I  have  already  omitted.  Neither  of 
the  two  have  the  smallest  relation  to  Fixlein.  —  Ed. 

t  J.  P.  H ,  Jean  Paul  Hasus,  Jean  Paul,  &c,  have  in  succession 
been  Richter's  signatures.  At  present  even,  his  German  designa- 
tion, either  in  writing  or  speech,  is  never  Richter,  but  Jean  Paul. 
—  Ed. 


LIFE  OF  QUINTUS  FIXLEIN, 


DOWN    TO    OUR    OWN    TIMES. 


IN  FIFTEEN  LETTER-BOXES. 


FIRST  LETTER-BOX. 

Dog-days  Vacation.      Visits.     An  Indigent  of  Quality. 

Egidius  Zebedaus  Fixlein  had  just  for  eight  days  been 
Quintus,*  and  fairly  commenced  teaching  duties,  when  For- 
tune tabled  out  for  him  four  refreshing  courses  and  collations, 
besprinkled  with  flowers  and  sugar.  These  were  the  four 
canicular  weeks.     I  could  find  in  my  heart,  at  this  hour,  to 

*  For  understanding  many  little  hints  which  occur  in  this  Life  of 
Fixlein,  it  will  be  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  the  following  partic- 
ulars :  A  German  Gymnasium,  in  its  complete  state,  appears  to 
include  eight  Masters ;  Rector,  Conrector,  Subrector,  Quintus, 
Quartus,  Tertius,  &c,  to  the  first  or  lowest.  The  forms,  or  classes, 
again,  are  arranged  in  an  inverse  order;  the  Primaner  (boys  of  the 
Prima,  or  first  form)  being  the  most  advanced,  and  taught  by  the 
Rector;  the  Secundaner,  by  the  Conrector,  &c. ;  and  therefore  the 
Quartaner  by  the  Quintus.  In  many  cases,  it  would  seem,  the 
number  of  Teachers  is  only  six  ;  but  in  this  Flachsenfingen  Gymna- 
sium we  have  express  evidence  that  there  was  no  curtailment. —  Ed. 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  221 

pat  the  cranium  of  that  good  man  who  invented  the  Dog-days 
Vacation.  I  never  go  to  walk  in  that  season,  without  think- 
ing how  a  thousand  down-pressed  pedagogic  persons  are 
now  erecting  themselves  in  the  open  air ;  and  the  stiff 
knapsack  is  lying  unbuckled  at  their  feet,  and  they  can 
seek  whatsoever  their  soul  desires  ;  butterflies,  —  or  roots  of 
numbers,  —  or  roots  of  words,  —  or  herbs, — or  their  na- 
tive villages. 

The  last  did  our  Fixlein.  He  moved  not,  however,  till 
Sunday,  —  for  you  like  to  know  how  holidays  taste  in  the 
city ;  and  then,  in  company  with  his  Shock  and  a  Quin- 
taner,  or  Fifth-Form  boy,  who  carried  his  Green  nightgown, 
he  issued  through  the  gate  in  the  morning.  The  dew  was 
still  lying;  and  as  he  reached  the  back  of  the  gardens,  the 
children  of  the  Orphan  Hospital  were  uplifting  with  clear 
voices  their  morning  hymn.  The  city  was  Flachsenfingen, 
the  village  Hukelum,  the  dog  Schil,  and  the  year  of  Grace 
1791. 

"  Mannikin,"  said  he  to  the  Quintaner,  for  he  liked  to 
speak,  as  Love,  children,  and  the  people  of  Vienna  do,  in 
diminutives,  "  Mannikin,  give  me  the  bundle  to  the  village  ; 
run  about,  and  seek  thee  a  little  bird,  as  thou  art  thyself, 
and  so  have  something  to  pet  too  in  vacation-time."  For 
the  mannikin  was  at  once  his  page,  lackey,  room-comrade, 
train-bearer,  and  gentleman  in  waiting ;  and  the  Shock  also 
was  his  mannikin. 

He  stept  slowly  along,  through  the  crisped  cole-beds, 
overlaid  with  colored  beads  of  dew  ;  and  looked  at  the 
bushes,  out  of  which,  when  the  morning  wind  bent  them 
asunder,  there  seemed  to  start  a  flight  of  jewel-colibri,  so 
brightly  did  they  glitter.  From  time  to  time  he  drew  the 
bell-rope  of  his  —  whistle,  that  the  mannikin  might  not  skip 
away  too  far;  and  he  shortened  his  league  and  half  of  road, 
by  measuring  it  not  in  leagues,  but  in  villages.  It  is  more 
19* 


222  RICHTEK. 

pleasant  for  pedestrians  —  for  geographers  it  is  not — to 
count  by  vversts  than  by  miles.  In  walking,  our  Quintus 
furthermore  got  by  heart  the  few  fields  on  which  the  grain 
was  already  reaped. 

But  now  roam  slower,  Fixlein,  through  His  Lordship's 
garden  of  Hukelum  ;  not,  indeed,  lest  thy  coat  sweep  away 
any  tulip-stamina,  but  that  thy  good  mother  may  have  time 
to  lay  her  Cupid's-band  of  black  taffeta  about  her  smooth 
brow.  I  am  grieved  to  think  my  fair  readers  take  it  ill  of 
her,  that  she  means  first  to  iron  this  same  band  ;  they  can- 
not know  that  she  has  no  maid  ;  and  that  to-day  the  whole 
Preceptorial  dinner  —  the  money  purveyances  the  guest  has 
made  over  to  her  three  days  before  —  is  to  be  arranged  and 
prepared  by  herself,  without  the  aid  of  any  Mistress  of 
the  Household  whatever ;  for  indeed  she  belongs  to  the 
Tiers  Etat,  being  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  gardener's 
widow. 

You  can  figure  how  this  true,  warm-hearted  mother  may 
have  lain  in  wait  all  morning  for  her  Schoolman,  whom  she 
loved  as  the  apple  of  her  eye ;  since,  on  the  whole  populous 
Earth,  she  had  not  (her  first  son,  as  well  as  her  husband, 
was  dead)  any  other  for  her  soul,  which  indeed  overflowed 
with  love ;  not  any  other  but  her  Zebedaus.  Could  she 
ever  tell  you  aught  about  him,  I  mean  aught  joyful,  without 
ten  times  wiping  her  eyes  ?  Nay,  did  she  not  once  divide 
her  solitary  Kirmes  (or  Churchale)  cake  between  two 
mendicant  students,  because  she  thought  Heaven  would 
punish  her  for  so  feasting,  while  her  boy  in  Leipzig  had 
nothing  to  feast  on,  and  must  pass  the  cake-garden  like 
other  gardens,  merely  smelling  at  it  ? 

"  Dickens  !  Thou  already,  Zebedaus  !  "  said  the  mother, 
giving  an  embarrassed  smile,  to  keep  from  weeping,  as  the 
son,  who  had  ducked  past  the  window,  and  crossed  the 
grassy  threshold  without  knocking,  suddenly  entered.     For 


LIFE     OF     QJJ1NTUS     FIXLE1N.  223 

joy  she  forgot  to  put  the  heater  into  the  smoothing-iron,  as 
her  illustrious  scholar,  amid  the  loud  boiling  of  the  soup,  ten- 
derly kissed  her  brow,  and  even  said  Mamma  ;  a  name  which 
lighted  on  her  breast  like  downy  silk.  All  the  windows 
were  open  ;  and  the  garden,  with  its  flower-essences,  and 
bird-music,  and  butterfly-collections,  was  almost  half  within 
the  room.  But  I  suppose  I  have  not  yet  mentioned  that  the 
little  garden-house,  rather  a  chamber  than  a  house,  was 
situated  on  the  western  cape  of  the  Castle  garden.  The 
owner  had  graciously  allowed  the  widow  to  retain  this 
dowager-mansion  ;  as  indeed  the  mansion  would  otherwise 
have  stood  empty,  for  he  now  kept  no  gardener. 

But  Fixlein,  in  spite  of  his  joy,  could  not  stay  long  with 
her  ;  being  bound  for  the  Church,  which,  to  his  spiritual 
appetite,  was  at  all  times  a  king's  kitchen  ;  a  mother's.  A 
sermon  pleased  him  simply  because  it  was  a  sermon,  and 
because  he  himself  had  once  preached  one.  The  mother 
was  contented  he  should  go  ;  these  good  women  think  they 
enjoy  their  guests,  if  they  can  only  give  them  aught  to 
enjoy. 

In  the  choir,  this  Free-haven  and  Ethnic  Forecourt  of 
stranger  church-goers,  he  smiled  on  all  parishioners ;  and, 
as  in  his  childhood,  standing  under  the  wooden  wing  of  an 
archangel,  he  looked  down  on  the  coifed  parterre.  His 
young  years  now  inclosed  him  like  children  in  their  smiling 
circle  ;  and  a  long  garland  wound  itself  in  rings  among 
them,  and  by  fits  they  plucked  flowers  from  it,  and  threw 
them  in  his  face.  Was  it  not  old  Senior  Astman  that  stood 
there  on  the  pulpit  Parnassus,  the  man  by  whom  he  had 
been  so  often  flogged,  while  acquiring  Greek  with  him  from 
a  grammar  written  in  Latin,  which  he  could  not  explain, 
yet  was  forced  to  walk  by  the  light  of?  Stood  there  not 
behind  the  pulpit-stairs  the  sacristy-cabin,  and  in  this  was 
there   not  a  church-library  of  consequence — no  schoolboy 


224  RICHTER. 

could  have  buckled  it  wholly  in  his  bookstrap — lying 
under  the  minever  cover  of  pastil  dust  ?  And  did  it  not 
consist  of  the  Polyglott  in  folio,  which  he,  spurred  on  by 
Pfeiffer's  Critica  Sacra^  had  turned  up  leaf  by  leaf,  in  his 
early  years,  excerpting  therefrom  the  literce,  inverses  majus- 
culce,  minusculcB,  and  so  forth,  with  an  immensity  of  toil  ? 
And  could  he  not  at  present,  the  sooner  the  more  readily, 
have  wished  to  cast  this  alphabetic  soft- fodder  into  the 
Hebrew  letter-trough,  whereto  your  Oriental  Rhizophagi 
(Rooteaters)  are  tied,  especially  as  here  they  get  so  little 
vowel  hard-fodder  to  keep  them  in  heart  ?  —  Stood  there 
not  close  by  him  the  organ-stool,  the  throne  to  which,  every 
Apostle-day,  the  Schoolmaster  had  by  three  nods  elevated 
him,  thence  to  fetch  down  the  sacred  hyssop,  the  sprinkler 
of  the  Church? 

My  readers  themselves  will  gather  spirits  when  they  now 
hear  that  our  Quintus,  during  the  outshaking  of  the  poor- 
bag,  was  invited  by  the  Senior  to  come  over  in  the  after- 
noon ;  and  to  them  it  will  be  little  less  gratifying  than  if  he 
had  invited  themselves.  But  what  will  they  say,  when  they 
get  home  with  him  to  mother  and  dinner-table,  both  already 
clad  in  their  white  Sunday  dress ;  and  behold  the  large 
cake  which  Fraulein  Thiennette  (Stephanie)  has  rolled  from 
her  peel  ?  In  the  first  place,  however,  they  will  wish  to 
know  who  she  is. 

She  is  —  for  if  (according  to  Lessing),  in  the  very  excel- 
lence of  the  Iliad,  we  neglect  the  personalities  of  its  author  ; 
the  same  thing  will  apply  to  the  fate  of  several  authors,  for 
instance  to  my  own  ;  but  an  authoress  of  cakes  must  not  be 
forgotten  in  the  excellence  of  her  baking — Thiennette  is  a 
poor,  indigent,  insolvent  young  lady  ;  has  not  much,  except 
years,  of  which  she  counts  five-and-twenty  ;  no  near  rela- 
tions living  now  ;  no  acquirements  (for  in  literature  she  does 
not  even  know  Werter)  except  economical  ;  reads  no  books, 


LIFE     OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  225 

not  even  mine  ;  inhabits,  that  is,  watches  like  a  wardeness, 
quite  alone,  the  thirteen  void,  disfurnished  chambers  of  the 
Castle  of  Hukelum,  which  belongs  to  the  Dragoon  Rittmeis- 
ter  Auf  hammer,  at  present  resident  in  his  other  mansion  of 
Schadeck  ;  on  occasion,  she  commands  and  feeds  his 
soccagers  and  handmaids ;  and  can  write  herself  By  the 
grace  of  God  —  which,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  the  coun- 
try nobles  did  as  well  as  princes,  —  for  she  lives  by  the 
grace  of  man,  at  least  of  woman,  the  Lady  Rittmeisterinn 
Auf  hammer's  grace,  who,  at  all  times,  blesses  those  vassals 
whom  her  husband  curses.  But,  in  the  breast  of  the 
orphaned  Thiennette,  lay  a  sugared  marchpane  heart, 
which,  for  very  love,  you  could  have  devoured  ;  her  fate 
was  hard,  but  her  soul  was  soft ;  she  was  modest,  courteous, 
and  timid,  but  too  much  so; — cheerfully  and  coldly  she 
received  the  most  cutting  humiliations  in  Schadeck,  and 
felt  no  pain,  and  not  till  some  days  after  did  she  see  it  all 
clearly,  and  then  these  cuts  began  sharply  to  bleed,  and  she 
wept  in  her  loneliness  over  her  lot. 

It  is  hard  for  me  to  give  a  light  tone,  after  this  deep 
one,  and  to  add,  that  Fixlein  had  been  almost  brought  up 
beside  her,  and  that  she,  his  school-moiety  over  with  the 
Senior,  while  the  latter  was  training  him  for  the  dignities  of 
the  Third  Form,  had  learned  the  Verba  Anomala  along 
with  him. 

The  Achilles'-shield  of  the  cake,  jagged  and  embossed 
with  carved  work  of  brown  scales,  was  whirling  round  in 
the  Quintus  like  a  swing-wheel  of  hungry  and  thankful 
ideas.  Of  that  philosophy  which  despises  eating,  and  of 
that  high  breeding  which  wastes  it,  he  had  not  so  much 
about  him  as  belongs  to  the  ungratefulness  of  such  cultivated 
persons  ;  but  for  his  platter  of  meat,  for  his  dinner  of  herbs, 
he  could  never  give  thanks  enough. 

Innocent  and  contented,  the  quadruple  dinner-party  —  for 


226 


RICHTER. 


the  Shock  with  his  cover  under  the  stove   cannot   be  omitted 
—  now  began  their  Feast  of  Sweet   Bread,  their   Feast  of 
Honor  for  Thiennette,  their  Grove-feast   in  the  garden.     It 
may  truly  be  a  subject  of  wonder  how  a   man  who  has  not, 
like  the  King  of  France,  four  hundred  and  forty-eight  per- 
sons (the   hundred  and   sixty -one    Garpons   de   la  Maison- 
bouclie  I  do  not  reckon)  in   his  kitchen,   nor   a    Fruiterie  of 
thirty-one  human  bipeds,  nor  a  Pastry-cookery  of  three-and- 
twenty,  nor  a  daily  expenditure  of  387  Livres  21   Sous,  — 
how  such  a  man,  I  say,  can  eat  with  any  satisfaction.  Never- 
theless, to  me,  a  cooking  mother  is  as  dear  as  a  whole  royal 
cooking  household,  given  rather  to   feed  upon   me  than  to 
feed  me.  —  The  most  precious  fragments  which  the  Biogra- 
pher  and  the  World   can  gather   from  this   meal  consist  of 
here  and  there  an  edifying  piece  of  table-talk.     The  mother 
had  much  to  tell.     Thiennette   is  this   night,  she    mentious, 
for  the  first  time,  to  put  on  her  morning  promenade-dress  of 
white  muslin,  as  also  a  satin   girdle   and  steel   buckle  ;  but, 
adds  she,  it  will  not  sit  her  ;  as  the   Rittmeisterinn  (for  this 
lady  used  to  hang  her  cast  clothes  on   Thiennette,  as   Cath- 
olics do  their  cast  crutches  and  sores  on  their  patron  Saints) 
was  much  thicker.    Good  women  grudge  each  other  nothing 
save  only  clothes,  husbands,  and  flax.     In   the  fancy  of  the 
Quintus,  by  virtue  of  this  apparel,  a  pair   of  angel   pinions 
were  sprouting   forth   from  the   shoulder-blades   of   Thien- 
nette ;  for  him  a  garment  was  a  sort  of  hollow   half-man,  to 
whom  only   the  nobler   parts   and   the   first  principles  were 
wanting  ;  he  honored  these  wrappages  and   hulls   of  our  in- 
terior, not  as  an  Elegant,  or  a  Critic  of  Beauty,  but  because 
it  was  not  possible  for  him  to  despise   aught   which   he   saw 
others  honoring.     Farther,  the  good  mother  read  to   him,  as 
it  were,  the  monumental  inscription   of  his   father,  who  had 
sunk  into  the  arms  of  Death  in  the  thirty-second  year  of  his 
age,  from  a  cause  which  I  explain  not   here,  but  in  a  future 


LIFE     OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  227 

Letter-box,  having  too  much  affection  for  the  reader.     Our 
Quintus  could  not  sate  himself  with  hearing  of  his  father. 

The  fairest  piece  of  news  was,  that  Fraulein  Thiennette 
had  sent  word  to-day,  "  he  might  visit  Her  Ladyship  to- 
morrow, as  My  Lord,  his  godfather,  was  to  be  absent  in 
town."  This,  however,  I  must  explain.  Old  Aufhammer 
was  called  Egidius,  and  was  Fixlein's  godfather  ;  but  he  — 
though  the  Rittmeisterinn  duly  covered  the  cradle  of  the 
child  with  nightly  offerings,  with  flesh-tithes  and  grain-tithes 
—  had  frugally  made  him  no  christening  present,  except 
that  of  his  name,  which  proved  to  be  the  very  balefullest. 
For,  our  Egidius  Fixlein,  with  his  Shock,  which,  by  reason 
of  the  French  convulsions,  had,  in  company  with  other  em 
igrants  run  off  from  Nantes,  was  but  lately  returned  from 
college  —  when  he  and  his  dog,  as  ill  luck  would  have  it, 
went  to  walk  in  the  Hukelum  wood.  Now,  as  the  Quintus 
was  ever  and  anon  crying  out  to  his  attendant  :  "  Coosh, 
Schil"  (Couche  Gilles),  it  must  apparently  have  been  the 
Devil  that  had  just  then  planted  the  Lord  of  Aufhammer 
among  the  trees  and  bushes  in  such  a  way,  that  this  whole 
travestying  and  docking  of  his  name  —  for  Gilles  means 
Egidius  —  must  fall  directly  into  his  ear.  Fixlein  could 
neither  speak  French,  nor  any  offence  to  mortal ;  he  knew 
not  head  or  tail  of  what  couche  signified  ;  a  word,  which,  in 
Paris,  even  the  plebeian  dogs  are  now  in  the  habit  of  saying 
to  their  valets  de  chiens.  But  there  were  three  things  which 
Von  Aufhammer  never  recalled  ;  his  error,  his  anger,  and 
his  word.  The  provokee,  therefore,  determined  that  the 
plebeian  provoker  and  honor-stealer  should  never  more 
speak  to  him,  or  —  get  a  doit  from  him. 

I  return.  After  dinner  he  gazed  out  of  the  little  window 
into  the  garden,  and  saw  his  path  of  life  dividing  into  four 
branches,  leading  towards  just  as  many  skyward  Ascen- 
sions ;  towards  the  Ascension  into  the   Parsonage,  and   that 


228  RICHTER. 

into  the  Castle  to  Thiennette,  for  this  day  ;  and  towards  the 
third  into  Schadeck  for  the  morrow  ;  and  lastly,  into  every 
house  in  Hukelum  as  the  fourth.  And  now  when  the  mother 
had  long  enough  kept  cheerfully  gliding  about  on  tiptoe 
"not  to  disturb  him  in  studying  his  Latin  Bible,"  (the  Vul- 
gata),  that  is,  in  reading  the  Litter  aturzeitung,  he  at  last 
rose  to  his  own  feet ;  and  the  humble  joy  of  the  mother  ran 
long  after  the  courageous  son,  who  dared  to  go  forth  and 
speak  to  a  Senior,  quite  unappalled.  Yet  it  was  not  without 
reverence  that  he  entered  the  dwelling  of  his  old,  rather 
grey  than  bald  headed,  teacher,  who  was  not  only  Virtue 
itself,  but  also  Hunger,  eating  frequently,  and  with  the  ap- 
petite of  Pharoah's  lean  kine.  A  schoolman  that  expects 
to  become  a  professor  will  scarcely  deign  to  cast  an  eye  on 
a  pastor  ;  but  one,  who  is  himself  looking  up  to  a  parsonage 
as  to  his  working-house  and  breeding-house,  knows  how  to 
value  such  a  character.  The  new  parsonage  —  as  if  it  had, 
like  a  Casa  Santa,  come  flying  out  of  Erlang,  or  the  Berlin 
Friedrichs-strasse,  and  alighted  in  Hukelum  —  was  for  the 
Quintus  a  Temple  of  the  Sun,  and  the  Senior  a  Priest  of 
the  Sun.  To  be  Parson  there  himself  was  a  thought  over- 
laid with  virgin  honey  ;  such  a  thought  as  occurs  but  one 
other  time  in  History,  namely,  in  the  head  of  Hannibal, 
when  he  projected  stepping  over  the  Alps,  that  is  to  say, 
over  the  threshold  of  Rome. 

The  landlord  and  his  guest  formed  an  excellent  bureau 
(Vesprit ;  people  of  office,  especially  of  the  same  office, 
have  more  to  tell  each  other,  namely,  their  own  history, 
than  your  idle  May-chafers  and  Court-celestials,  who  must 
speak  only  of  other  people's.  —  The  Senior  made  a  soft 
transition  from  his  iron-ware  (in  the  stable  furniture),  to  the 
golden  age  of  his  Academic  life,  of  which  such  people  like  as 
much  to  think,  as  poets  do  of  their  childhood.  So  good  as 
he  was,  he  still    half  joyfully  recollected   that  he   had    once 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  229 

been  less  so  ;  but  joyful  remembrances  of  wrong  actions 
are  their  half  repetition,  as  repentant  remembrances  of  good 
ones  are  their  half  abolishment. 

Courteously  and  kindly  did  Zebedaus  (who  could  not 
even  enter  in  his  Notebook  the  name  of  a  person  of  quality 
without  writing  an  H.  for  Herr  before  it)  listen  to  the  Aca- 
demic Saturnalia  of  the  old  gentleman,  who  in  Wittenberg 
had  toped  as  well  as  written,  and  thirsted  not  more  for  the 
Hippocrene  than  for  Gukguk.* 

Herr  Jerusalem  has  observed,  that  the  barbarism,  which 
often  springs  up  close  on  the  brightest  efflorescence  of  the 
sciences,  is  a  sort  of  strengthening  mud-bath,  good  for  avert- 
ing the  over-refinement  wherewith  such  efflorescence  always 
threatens  us.  I  believe  that  a  man  who  considers  how  high 
the  sciences  have  mounted  with  our  upper  classes  —  for 
instance  with  every  Patrician's  son  in  Nurnberg,  to  whom 
the  public  must  present  1000  florins  for  studying  with, —  I 
believe  that  such  a  man  will  not  grudge  the  Son  of  the 
Muses  a  certain  barbarous  Middle-age  (the  Burschen  or 
Student  Life,  as  it  is  called),  which  may  again  so  case- 
harden  him  that  his  refinement  shall  not  go  beyond  the 
limits.  The  Senior,  while  in  Wittenberg,  had  protected 
the  one  hundred  and  eighty  Academic  Freedoms  —  so  many 
of  them  has   Petrus   RebufTus   summed  upf  —  against   pre- 


*  A  university  beer. 

t  From  Peter  I  will  copy  one  or  two  of  these  privileges ;  the 
whole  of  which  were  once,  at  the  origin  of  universities,  in  full 
force.  For  instance,  a  student  can  compel  a  citizen  to  let  him  his 
house  and  his  horse;  an  injury,  done  even  to  his  relations,  must 
be  made  good  fourfold  ;  he  is  not  obliged  to  fulfil  the  written  com- 
mands of  the  Pope  ;  the  neighborhood  must  indemnify  him  for 
what  is  stolen  from  him  ;  if  he  and  a  non-student  are  living  at 
variance,  the  latter  only  can  be  expelled  from  the  boarding-house; 
a  Doctor  is  obliged  to   support  a  poor  student ;  if  he   is  killed,  the 

VOL.  II.  20 


230  RICHTER. 

scription,  and  lost  none  except  his  moral  one,  of  which  truly 
a  man,  even  in  a  convent,  can,  seldom  make  much.  This 
gave  our  Quintus  courage  to  relate  certain  pleasant  somer- 
sets of  his  own,  which  at  Leipzig,  under  the  Incubus-pres- 
sure of  poverty,  he  had  contrived  to  execute.  Let  us  hear 
him.  His  landlord,  who  was  at  the  same  time  Professor 
and  Miser,  maintained  in  his  enclosed  court  a  whole  com- 
munity of  hens.  Fixlein,  in  company  with  three  roommates, 
without  difficulty  mastered  the  rent  of  a  chamber,  or 
closet.  In  general  their  main  equipments,  like  Phoenixes, 
existed  but  in  the  singular  number ;  one  bed,  in  which  al- 
ways the  one  pair  slept  before  midnight,  the  other  after 
midnight,  like  nocturnal  watchmen  ;  one  coat,  in  which  one 
after  the  other  they  appeared  in  public,  and  which,  like  a 
watch-coat,  was  the  national  uniform  of  the  company  ;  and 
several  other  ories,  Unities  both  of  Interest  and  Place.  No- 
where can  you  collect  the  stress-memorials  and  siege-medals 
of  Poverty  more  pleasantly  and  philosophically  than  at 
College  ;  the  Academic  burgher  exhibits  to  us  how  many 
humorists  and  Diogeneses  Germany  has  in  it.  Our  Unita- 
rians had  just  one  thing  four  times,  and  that  was  hunger. 
The  Quintus  related,  perhaps  with  a  too  pleasurable  enjoy- 
ment of  the  recollection,  how  one  of  this  famishing  coro 
invented  means  of  appropriating  the  Professor's  hens  as 
just  tribute,  or  subsidies.  He  said  (he  was  a  Jurist),  they 
must  once  for  all  borrow  a  legal  fiction  from  the  Feudal 
code,  and  look  on  the  Professor  as  the  soccage  tenant,  to 
whom  the  usufruct  of  the  hen-yard  and  hen-house  belonged  ; 
but  on  themselves  as  the  feudal  superiors  of  the  same,  to 
whom  accordingly  the  vassal  was  bound  to  pay  his  feudal 
dues.  And  now,  that  the  Fiction  might  follow  Nature,  con- 
next  ten  houses  are  laid  under  interdict  till  the  murderer  is  dis- 
covered ;  his  legacies  are  not  abridged  by  falcidia,  &c.  &c. 


LIFE     OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN, 


231 


tinued  he  —  "jictio  sequitur  naturam,'  —  it  behoved  them 
to  lay  hold  of  said  Yule-hens,  by  direct  personal  distraint. 
But  into  the  court-yard  there  was  no  getting.  The  feudalist, 
therefore,  prepared  a  fishing-line  ;  stuck  a  bread-pill  on  the 
hook,  and  lowered  his  fishing-tackle,  anglewise,  down  into 
the  court.  In  a  few  seconds  the  barb  stuck  in  a  hen  s  throat, 
and  the  hen,  now  communicating  with  its  feudal  superior, 
could  silently,  like  ships  by  Archimedes,  be  heaved  aloft  to 
the  hungry  air-fishing  society,  where,  according  to  circum- 
stances, the  proper  feudal  name  and  title  of  possession 
failed  not  to  be  awaiting  her ;  for  the  updrawn  fowls  were 
now  denominated  Christmas-fowls,  now  Forest-hens,  Bailiff- 
hens,  Pentecost  and  Summer-hens.  "  I  begin,"  said  the 
angling  lord  of  the  manor,  "  with  taking  Rut c her -dues,  for 
so  we  call  the  triple  and  quintuple  of  the  original  quitrent, 
when  the  vassal,  as  is  the  case  here,  has  long  neglected 
payment."  The  Professor,  like  any  other  prince,  observed 
with  sorrow  the  decreasing  population  of  his  hen-yard,  for 
his  subjects,  like  the  Hebrews,  were  dying  by  enumeration. 
At  last  he  had  the  happiness,  while  reading  his  lecture  — 
he  was  just  come  to  the  subject  of  Forest  Salt  and  Coin 
Regalities  —  to  descry  through  the  window  of  his  audito- 
rium a  quitrent  hen  suspended,  like  Ignatius  Loyola  in 
prayer,  or  Juno  in  her  punishment,  in  middle  air.  He  fol- 
lowed the  incomprehensible  direct  ascension  of  the  aero- 
nautic animal,  and  at  last  descried  at  the  upper  window  the 
attracting  artist,  and  animal-magnetizer,  who  had  drawn  his 
lot  for  dinner  from  the  hen-yard  below.  Contrary  to  all  ex- 
pectation, he  terminated  this  fowling  sport  sooner  than  his 
Lecture  on  Regalities. 

Fixlein  walked  home,  amid  the  vesperal  melodies  of  the 
steeple  sounding-holes  ;  and  by  the  road,  courteously  took 
off  his  hat  before  the  empty  windows  of  the  Castle,  Houses 
of  quality  were  to   him  like  persons  of  quality,  as  in  India 


232 


UlCHTEIi. 


the  Pagoda  at  once  represents  the  temple  and  the  god.  To 
the  mother  he  brought  feigned  compliments,  which  she 
repaid  with  authentic  ones ;  for  this  afternoon  she  had  been 
over,  with  her  historical  tongue  and  nature-interrogating 
eye,  visiting  the  white-muslin  Thiennette.  The  mother  was 
wont  to  show  her  every  spare-penny  which  he  dropped 
into  her  large  empty  purse,  and  so  raise  him  in  the  good 
graces  of  the  Fraiilein  ;  for  women  feel  their  hearts  much 
more  attracted  towards  a  son,  who  tenderly  reserves  for  a 
mother  some  of  their  benefits,  than  we  do  to  a  daughter 
anxiously  caring  for  her  father  ;  perhaps  from  a  hundred 
causes,  and  this  among  the  rest,  that  in  their  experience  of 
sons  and  husbands  they  are  more  used  to  find  these  persons 
mere  six-feet  thunder-clouds,  forked  waterspouts,  or  even 
reposing  tornadoes. 

Blessed  Quintus!  on  whose  Life  this  other  distinction 
like  an  order  of  nobility  does  also  shine,  that  thou  canst  tell 
it  over  to  thy  mother  ;  as,  for  example,  this  past  afternoon 
in  the  parsonage.  Thy  joy  flows  into  another  heart,  and 
streams  back  from  it,  redoubled,  into  thy  own.  There  is  a 
closer  approximating  of  hearts,  and  also  of  sounds,  than 
that  of  the  Echo ;  the  highest  approximation  melts  Tone 
and  Echo  into  Resonance  together. 

It  is  historically  certain  that  both  of  them  supped  this 
evening ;  and  that  instead  of  the  whole  dinner  fragments 
which  to-morrow  might  themselves  represent  a  dinner,  noth- 
ing but  the  cake-offering  or  pudding  was  laid  upon  the  altar 
of  the  table.  The  mother,  who  for  her  own  child  would 
willingly  have  neglected  not  herself  only,  but  all  other 
people,  now  made  a  motion  that  to  the  Quintaner,  who  was 
sporting  out  of  doors  and  baiting  a  bird  instead  of  himself, 
there  should  no  crumb  of  the  precious  pastry  be  given,  but 
only  table-bread  without  the  crust.  But  the  Schoolman  had 
a  Christian  disposition,  and  said  that  it  was  Sunday,  and  the 


LIFE     OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  233 

young  man  liked  something  delicate  to  eat  as  well  as  lie. 
Fixlein  —  the  counterpart  of  great  men  and  geniuses  — 
was  inclined  to  treat,  to  gift,  to  gratify  a  serving  house- 
mate, rather  than  a  man  who  is  for  the  first  time  passing 
through  the  gate,  and  at  the  next  post-stage  will  forget 
both  his  hospitable  landlord  and  the  last  postmaster.  On  the 
whole,  our  Quintus  had  a  touch  of  honor  in  him,  and  notwith- 
standing his  thrift  and  sacred  regard  for  money,  he  willingly 
gave  it  away  in  cases  of  honor,  and  unwillingly  in  cases  of 
overpowering  sympathy,  which  too  painfully  filled  the 
cavities  of  his  heart,  and  emptied  those  of  his  purse.  Whilst 
the  Quintaner  was  exercising  the  jus  compascui  on  the 
cake,  and  six  arms  were  peacefully  resting  on  Thiennette's 
free-table,  Fixlein  read  to  himself  and  the  company  the 
Flachsenfingen  Address-calendar;  any  higher  thing,  except 
MeusePs  Gelehrtes  Deutschland*  he  could  not  figure  ;  the 
Kammerherrs  and  Raths  of  the  Calendar  went  tickling 
over  his  tongue  like  the  raisins  of  the  cake  ;  and  of  the 
more  rich  church-livings  he,  by  reading,  as  it  were  levied  a 
tithe. 

He  purposely  remained  his  own  Edition  in  Sunday 
Wove-paper;  I  mean,  he  did  not  lay  away  his  Sunday  coat, 
even  when- the  Prayer-bell  tolled;  for  he  had  still  much  to 
do. 

After  supper  he  was  just  about  visiting  the  Fraiilein, 
when  he  descried  her  in  person,  like  a  lily  dipt  in  the  red 
twilight,  in  the  Castle  garden,  whose  western  limit  his 
house  constituted,  the  southern  one  being  the  Chinese 
wall  of  the  Castle  ....  By  the  way,  how  I  got  to  the 
knowledge  of  all  this,  what  Letter-boxes  are,  whether  I  my- 
self was  ever  there,  &c.  &c.  —  the  whole  of  this  shall,  upon 

*  Literary  Germany,  a  work  (I  believe  of  no  great  merit)  which 
Richter  often  twitches  in  the  same  style.  —  Ed. 
20* 


34  RICHTER. 

my  life,  be  soon  and  faithfully  communicated  to  the  reader, 
and  that  too  in  the  present  Book. 

Fixlein  hopped  forth  like  a  Will-o'-wisp  into  the  garden, 
whose  flower-perfume  was  mingling  with  his  supper-per- 
fume. No  one  bowed  lower  to  a  nobleman  than  he,  not 
out  of  plebeian  servility,  nor  of  self-interested  cringing,  but 
because  he  thought  "*  a  nobleman  was  a  nobleman."  But 
in  this  case  his  bow,  instead  of  falling  forwards,  fell  ob- 
liquely to  the  right,  at  it  were  after  his  hat ;  for  he  had  not 
risked  taking  a  stick  with  him  ;  and  hat  and  stick  were  his 
proppage  and  balance-wheel,  in  short,  his  bowing-gear, 
without  which  it  was  out  of  his  power  to  produce  any 
courtly  bow,  had  you  offered  him  the  High  Church  of  Ham- 
burg for  so  doing.  Thiennette's  mirthfulness  soon  unfolded 
his  crumpled  soul  into  straight  form,  and  into  the  proper 
tone.  He  delivered  her  a  long  neat  Thanksgiving  and 
Harvest  sermon  for  the  scaly  cake  ;  which  appeared  to  her 
at  once  kind  and  tedious.  Young  women  without  the  polish 
of  high  life  reckon  tedious  pedantry,  merely  like  snuffing, 
one  of  the  necessary  ingredients  of  a  man  ;  they  reverence 
us  infinitely  ;  and  as  Lambert  could  never  speak  to  the 
King  of  Prussia,  by  reason  of  his  sun-eyes,  except  in  the 
dark,  so  they,  I  believe,  often  like  belter  —  also  by  reason 
of  our  sublime  air  —  if  they  can  catch  us  in  the  dark  too. 
Him  Thiennette  edified  by  the  Imperial  History  of  Herr 
von  Aufhammer  and  Her  Ladyship  his  spouse,  who  meant 
to  put  him,  the  Quintus,  in  her  will  ;  her  he  edified  by  his 
Literary  History,  as  relating  to  himself  and  the  Subrector ; 
how,  for  instance,  he  was  at  present  vicariating  in  the 
Second  Form,  and  ruling  over  scholars  as  long  in  stature  as 
himself.  And  thus  did  the  two  in  happiness,  among  red 
bean-blossoms,  red  may-chafers,  before  the  red  of  the 
twilight  burning  lower  and  lower  on  the  horizon,  walk  to 
and  fro  in  the  garden  ;  and  turn  always  with  a  smile  as  they 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  235 

approached  the  head  of  the  ancient  gardeneress,  standing 
like  a  window-bust  through  the  little  lattice,  which  opened 
in  the  bottom  of  a  larger  one. 

To  me  it  is  incomprehensible  he  did  not  fall  in  love. 
I  know  his  reasons,  indeed.  In  the  first  place,  she  had 
nothing ;  secondly,  he  had  nothing,  and  school-debts  to 
boot ;  thirdly,  her  genealogical  tree  was  a  boundary  tree 
and  warning-post ;  fourthly,  his  hands  were  tied  up  by 
another  nobler  thought,  which,  for  good  cause,  is  yet  re- 
served from  the  reader.  Nevertheless  —  Fixlein  !  I  durst 
not  have  been  in  thy  place !  I  should  have  looked  at  her, 
and  remembered  her  virtues  and  our  school-years,  and  then 
have  drawn  forth  my  too  fusible  heart,  and  presented  it  to 
her  as  a  bill  of  exchange,  or  insinuated  it  as  a  summons. 
For  I  should  have  considered  that  she  resembled  a  nun  in 
two  senses,  in  her  good  heart  and  in  her  good  pastry  ;  that, 
in  spite  of  her  intercourse  with  male  vassals,  she  was  no 
Charles  Genevieve  Louise  Auguste  Timothe  Eon  de  Beau- 
mont,* but  a  smooth,  fair-haired,  white-capped  dove  ;  that 
she  sought  more  to  please  her  own  sex  than  ours ;  that  she 
showed  a  melting  heart,  not  previously  borrowed  from  the 
Circulating  Library,  in  tears,  for  which  in  her  innocence 
she  rather  took  shame  than  credit. —  At  the  very  first 
cheapening,  I  should,  on  these  grounds,  have  been  out  with 
my  heart.  —  Had  I  fully  reflected,  Quintus !  that  I  knew 
her  as  myself;  that  her  hands  and  mine  (to  wit,  had  I  been 
thou)  had  both  been  guided  by  the  same  Senior  to  Latin 
penmanship;  that  we  two,  when  little  children,  had  kissed 
each  other  before  the  glass,  to  see  whether  the  two  imao-e- 
children  would  do  it  likewise  in  the  mirror  ;  that  often  we 
had  put  hands  of  both  sexes  into  the  same  mufT,  and  there 
played  with  them   in   secret ;   had   I,  lastly,   considered  that 

*  See  Schmelzle's  Journey,  p.  184.  —  Ed. 


236 


RICHTER. 


we  were  here  standing  before  the  glass-house,  now  splen- 
dent in  the  enamel  of  twilight,  and  that  on  the  eold  panes  of 
this  glass-house  we  two  (she  within,  I  without)  had  often 
pressed  our  warm  cheeks  together,  parted  only  by  the 
thickness  of  the  glass,  —  then  had  I  taken  this  poor  gentle 
soul,  pressed  asunder  by  Fate,  and  seeing,  amid  her 
thunder-clouds,  no  higher  elevation  to  part  them  and  pro- 
tect her  than  the  grave,  and  had  drawn  her  to  my  own  soul, 
and  warmed  her  on  my  heart,  and  encompassed  her  about 
with  my  eyes. 

In  truth,  the  Quintus  would  have  done  so  too,  had  not  the 
above-mentioned  nobler  thought,  which  I  yet  disclose  not, 
kept  him  back.  Softened,  without  knowing  the  cause  — 
(accordingly  he  gave  his  mother  a  kiss)  —  and  blessed 
without  having  had  a  literary  conversation  ;  and  dismissed 
with  a  freight  of  humble  compliments,  which  he  was  to  dis- 
load  on  the  morrow  before  the  Dragoon  Rittmeisterinn,  he 
returned  to  his  little  cottage,  and  looked  yet  a  long  while 
out  of  its  dark  windows,  at  the  light  ones  of  the  Castle. 
And  then,  when  the  first  quarter  of  the  moon  was  setting, 
that  is,  about  midnight,  he  again,  in  the  cool  sigh  of  a 
mild,  fanning,  moist,  and  directly  heart-addressing  night- 
breeze,  opened  the  eyelids  of  a  sight  already  sunk  in  dream- 


Sleep,  for  to-day  thou  hast  done  nought  ill  !  I,  whilst 
the  drooping,  shut  flower- bell  of  thy  spirit  sinks  on  thy 
pillow,  will  look  into  the  breezy  night  over  thy  morning 
footpath,  which,  through  the  translucent  little  wood,  is  to 
lead  thee  to  Schadeck,  to  thy  patroness.  All  prosperity 
attend  thee,  thou  foolish  Quintus  !  — 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  237 

SECOND  LETTER-BOX. 

Frau  von  Avf hammer.    Child  hood- Resonance.    Author  craft. 

The  early  piping  which  the  little  thrush,  last  night  adopted 
by  the  Quintaner  from  its  nest,  started  for  victual  about 
two  o'clock,  soon  drove  our  Quintus  into  his  clothes  ;  whose 
calender-press  and  parallel-ruler  the  hands  of  his  careful 
mother  had  been,  for  she  would  not  send  him  to  the  Ritt- 
meisterinn  "  like  a  runagate  dog."  The  Shock  was  incar- 
cerated, the  Quintaner  taken  with  him,  as  likewise  many 
wholesome  rules  from  Mother  Fixlein,  how  to  conduct 
himself  towards  the  Rittmeisterinn.  But  the  son  answered  : 
"  Mamma,  when  a  man  has  been  in  company,  like  me, 
with  high  people,  with  a  Fraulein  Thiennette,  he  soon 
knows  whom  he  is  speaking  to,  and  what  polished  manners 
and  Saver  di  veaver  (Savoir  vivre)  require." 

He  arrived  with  the  Quintaner,  and  green  fingers  (dyed 
with  the  leaves  he  had  plucked  on  the  path),  and  with  a 
half-nibbled  rose  between  his  teeth,  in  presence  of  the  sleek 
lackeys  of  Schadeck. —  If  women  are  flowers  —  though  as 
often  silk  and  Italian  and  gum-flowers  as  botanical  ones  — 
then  was  Frau  von  Aufhammer  a  ripe  flower,  with 
(adipose)  neck-bulb,  and  tuberosity  (of  lard).  Already,  in 
the  half  of  her  body,  cut  away  from  life  by  the  apoplexy, 
she  lay  upon  her  lard-pillow  but  as  on  a  softer  grave  ; 
nevertheless,  the  portion  of  her  that  remained  was  at  once 
lively,  pious,  and  proud.  Her  heart  was  a  flowing  cornuco- 
pia to  all  men,  yet  this  not  from  philanthropy,  but  from 
rigid  devotion  ;  the  lower  classes  she  assisted,  cherished, 
and  despised,  regarding  nothing  in  them,  except  it  were 
their  piety.  She  received  the  bowing  Quintus  with  the 
back-bowing   air   of  a   patroness  ;  yet  she  brightened  into  a 


233  RICHTER. 

look  of  kindliness  at  his  disloading  of  the  compliments  from 
Thiennette. 

She  began  the  conversation,  and  long  continued  it  alone, 
and  said  —  yet  without  losing  the  inflation  of  pride  from 
her  countenance  :  "  She  should  soon  die  ;  but  the  god-chil- 
dren of  her  husband  she  would  remember  in  her  will." 
Farther,  she  told  him  directly  in  the  face,  which  stood  there 
all  over-written  with  the  Fourth  Commandment  before  her, 
that  "he  must  not  build  upon  a  settlement  in  Hukelum  ;  but 
to  the  Flachsenfingen  Conrectorate  (to  which  the  Burger- 
meister  and  Council  had  the  right  of  nomination)  she  hoped 
to  promote  him,  as  it  was  from  the  then  Burgermeister  that 
she  bought  her  coffee,  and  from  the  Town-Syndic  (he  drove 
a  considerable  wholesale  and  retail  trade  in  Hamburg  can- 
dles) that  she  bought  both  her  wax  and  tallow  lights." 

And  now  by  degrees  he  arrived  at  his  humble  petition, 
when  she  asked  him  sick-news  of  Senior  Astmann,  who 
guided  himself  more  by  Luther's  Catechism  than  by  the 
Catechism  of  Health.  She  was  Astmann's  patroness  in  a 
stricter  than  ecclesiastical  sense  ;  and  she  even  confessed 
that  she  would  soon  follow  this  true  shepherd  of  souls,  when 
she  heard,  here  at  Schadeck,  the  sound  of  his  funeral-bell. 
Such  strange  chemical  affinities  exist  between  our  dross 
and  our  silver  veins;  as,  for  example,  here  between  Pride 
and  Love  ;  and  I  could  wish  that  we  would  pardon  this 
hypostatic  union  in  all  persons,  as  we  do  it  in  the  fair,  who, 
with  all  their  faults,  are  nevertheless  by  us — as,  according 
to  Du  Fay,  iron,  though  mixed  with  any  other  metal,  is,  by 
the  magnet — attracted  and  held  fast. 

Supposing  even  that  the  Devil  had,  in  some  idle  minute, 
sown  a  handful  or  two  of  the  seeds  of  Envy  in  our  Quintus's 
soul,  yet  they  had  not  sprouted  ;  and  to-day  especially  they 
did  not,  when  he  heard  the  praises  of  a  man  who  had  been 
his  teacher,  and   who  —  what  he  reckoned  a  Titulado  of  the 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLE1N.  239 

Earth,  not  from  vanity  but  from  piety  —  was  a  clergyman. 
So  much,  however,  is,  according  to  History,  not  to  he  de- 
nied ;  that  he  now  straightway  came  forth  with  his  petition 
to  the  noble  lady,  signifying  that  "  indeed  he  would  cheer- 
fully content  himself  for  a  few  years  in  the  school  ;  but  yet 
in  the  end  he  longed  to  be  in  some  small  quiet  priestly 
office."  To  her  question,  "  But  was  he  orthodox  ?  "  he  an- 
swered, that  "  he  hoped  so  ;  he  had,  in  Leipzig,  not  only 
attended  all  the  public  lectures  of  Dr  Burscher,  but  also  had 
taken  private  instructions  from  several  sound  teachers  of 
the  faith,  well  knowing  that  the  Consistorium,  in  its  exami- 
nations as  to  purity  of  doctrine,  was  now  more  strict  than 
formerly  " 

The  sick  lady  required  him  lo  make  a  prr»of-shot,  namely, 
to  administer  lo  her  a  sick-bed  exhortation.  By  Heaven! 
he  administered  to  her  one  of  the  best.  Her  pride  of  birth 
now  crouched  before  his  pride  of  office  and  priesthood  ;  for 
though  he  could  not,  with  the  Dominican  monk,  Alanus  de 
Rune,  believe  that  a  priest  was  greater  than  God,  inasmuch 
as  the  latter  could  only  make  a  World,  but  the  former  a 
God  (in  the  mass)  ;  yet  he  could  not  but  fall  in  with  Hos- 
tiensis,  who  shows  that  the  priestly  dignity  is  seven  thousand 
six  hundred  and  forty-four  times  greater  than  the  kingly, 
the  Sun  being  just  so  many  times  greater  than  the  Moon. — 
But  a  Rittmeisterinn  —  she  shrinks  into  absolute  nothing 
before  a  parson. 

In  the  servants'  hall  he  applied  to  the  lackeys  for  the  last 
annual  series  of  the  Hamburg  Political  Journal ;  perceiv- 
ing that  with  these  historical  documents  of  the  time  they 
were  scandalously  papering  the  buttons  of  travelling  rai- 
ment. In  gloomy  harvest  evenings,  he  could  now  sit  down 
and  read  for  himself  what  good  news  were  transpiring  in 
the  political  world  —  twelve  months  ago. 

On  a  Triumphal  Car,  full-laden  with  laurel,  and  to  which 


240  RICHTER. 

Hopes  alone  were  yoked,  he  drove  home  at  night,  and  by 
the  road  advised  the  Quintaner  not  to  be  puffed  up  with 
any  earthly  honor,  but  silently  to  thank  God,  as  himself  was 
now  doing. 

The  thickset  blooming  grove  of  his  four  canicular  weeks, 
and  the  flying  tumult  of  blossoms  therein,  are  already 
painted  on  three  of  the  sides.  I  will  now  clutch  blindfold 
into  his  days,  and  bring  out  one  of  them  ;  one  smiles  and 
sends  forth  its  perfumes  like  another. 

Let  us  take,  for  instance,  the  Saint's  day  of  his  mother, 
Clara,  the  twelfth  of  August.  In  the  morning,  he  had 
perennial,  fire-proof  joys,  that  is  to  say,  Employments. 
For  he  was  writing,  as  I  am  doing.  Truly,  if  Xerxes  pro- 
posed a  prize  for  the  invention  of  a  new  pleasure,  any  man 
who  had  sat  down  to  write  his  thoughts  on  the  prize-ques- 
tion had  the  new  pleasure  already  among  his  fingers.  I 
know  only  one  thing  sweeter  than  making  a  book,  and  that 
is,  to  project  one.  Fixlein  used  to  write  little  works,  of 
the  twelfth  part  of  an  alphabet  in  size,  which  in  their  man- 
uscript state  he  got  bound  by  the  bookbinder  in  gilt  boards, 
and  betilled  with  printed  letters,  and  then  inserted  them 
among  the  literary  ranks  of  his  book-board.  Every  one 
thought  they  were  novelties  printed  in  writing  types.  He 
had  labored — I  shall  omit  his  less  interesting  performances 
—  at  a  Collection  of  Errors  of  the  Press,  in  German  wri- 
tings; he  compared  Errata  with  each  other;  showed  which 
occurred  most  frequently  ;  observed  that  important  results 
were  to  be  drawn  from  this,  and  advised  the  reader  to  draw 
them. 

Moreover,  he  took  his  place  among  the  German  Maso- 
rites.  He  observes  with  great  justice  in  his  Preface:  "The 
Jews  had  their  Masora  to  show,  which  told  them  how  often 
every  letter  was  to  be  found  in   their  Bible  ;  for  example, 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  241 

the  Aleph  (the  A)  42,377  times;  how  many  verses  there 
are  in  which  all  the  consonants  appear  (there  are  26  verses), 
or  only  eighty  (there  are  3)  ;  how  many  verses  we  have 
into  which  42  words  and  160  consonants  enter  (there  is  just 
one,  Jeremiah  xxi.  7) ;  which  is  the  middle  letter  in  certain 
books  (in  the  Pentateuch,  it  is  in  Leviticus  xi.  42,  the  noble 
V*),  or  in  the  whole  Bible  itself.  But  where  have  we 
Christians  any  similar  Masora  for  Luther's  Bible  to  show  ? 
Has  it  been  accurately  investigated  which  is  the  middle 
word,  or  the  middle  letter  here,  which  vowel  appears  sel- 
domest,  and  how  often  each  vowel  ?  Thousands  of  Bible- 
Christians  go  out  of  the  world,  without  ever  knowing  that 
the  German  A  occurs  323,015  times  (therefore  above  7 
times  oftener  than  the  Hebrew  one)  in  their  Bible." 

I  could  wish  that  inquirers  into  Biblical  Literature  among 
our  Reviewers  would  publicly  let  me  know,  if  on  a  more 
accurate  summation  they  find  this  number  incorrect. t 

Much  also  did  the  Quintus  collect;  he  had  a  fine  Alma- 
nack Collection,  a  Catechism  and  Pamphlet  Collection ;  also, 
a  Collection  of  Advertisements,  which  he  began,  is  not  so 
incomplete  as  you  most  frequently  see  such  things.  He 
puts  high  value  on  his  Alphabetical  Lexicon  of  German 
Subscribers  for  Books,  where  my  name  also  occurs  among 
the  Js. 


*  As  in  the  State. —  [V.  or  Von,  de,  of,  being  the  symbol  of  the 
nobility,  the  middle  order  of  the  State.  —  Ed.] 

tin  Erlang,  my  petition  has  been  granted.  The  Bible  Institution 
of  that  town  have  found  instead  of  the  116,301  As,  which  Fixlein 
at  first  pretended  with  such  certainty  to  find  in  the  Bible-books 
(which  false  number  was  accordingly  given  in  the  first  Edition  of 
this  Work,  p.  81),  the  above-mentioned  323,015;  which  (uncom- 
monly singular)  is  precisely  the  sum  of  all  the  letters  in  the  Koran 
put  together.  See  Ludeke's  Beschr.  dcs  Turk.  Reichs  (Lildeke'  s 
Description  of  the  Turkish  Empire.     New  edition,  1780. 

VOL.  II.  21 


242  RICHTER. 

But  what  he  liked  best  to  produce  were  Schemes  of 
Books.  Accordingly,  he  sewed  together  a  large  work, 
wherein  he  merely  advised  the  Learned  of  things  they  ought 
to  introduce  in  Literary  History,  which  History  he  rated 
some  ells  higher  than  Universal  or  Imperial  History.  In 
his  Prolegomena  to  this  performance,  he  transiently  submitted 
to  the  Literary  republic  that  Hommel  had  given  a  register 
of  Jurists  who  were  sons  of  wh  — ,  of  others  who  had 
become  Saints ;  that  Baillet  enumerates  the  Learned  who 
meant  to  write  something;  and  Ancillon  those  who  wrote 
nothing  at  all ;  and  the  Liibeck  Superintendent  Gotze,  those 
who  were  shoemakers,  those  who  were  drowned  ;  and  Bern- 
hard  those  whose  fortunes  and  history  before  birth  were 
interesting.  This  (he  could  now  continue)  should,  as  it 
seems,  have  excited  us  to  similar  muster-rolls  and  matricu- 
lations of  other  kinds  of  Learned;  whereof  he  proposed  a 
few  ;  for  example,  of  the  Learned  who  were  unlearned  ; 
of  those  who  were  entire  rascals  ;  of  such  as  wore  their 
own  hair, — of  cue-preachers,  cue-psalmists,  cue-annalists, 
and  so  forth  ;  of  the  Learned  who  had  worn  black  leather 
breeches,  of  others  who  had  worn  rapiers  ;  of  the  Learned 
who  had  died  in  their  eleventh  year,  —  in  their  twentieth  — 
twenty-first,  &c, —  in  their  hundred  and  fiftieth,  of  which 
he  knew  no  instance,  unless  the  Beggar  Thomas  Parr  might 
be  adduced  ;  of  the  Learned  who  wrote  a  more  abominable 
hand  than  the  other  Learned  (whereof  we  know  only  Rol- 
finken  and  his  letters,  which  were  as  long  as  his  hands*)  ; 
or  of  the  Learned  who  had  dipt  nothing  from  each  other 
but  the  beard  (whereof  no  instance  is  known,  save  that  of 
Philelphus  and  Timotheus.f ) 


*  Paravicini  Singularia  de  viris  claris.     Cent.  I.  2. 

t  Ejusd.  Cent.  II.  Philelphus  quarrelled  with  the  Greek  about 
the  quantity  of  a  syllable  ;  the  prize  or  bet  was  the  beard  of  the 
vanquished.     Timotheus  lost  his. 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    F1XLEIN.  243 

Such  bye  studies  did  he  carry  on  along  with  his  official 
labors ;  but  I  think  the  State  in  viewing  these  matters  is 
actually  mad  ;  it  compares  the  man  who  is  great  in  Philo- 
sophy and  Belles  Lettres  at  the  expense  of  his  jog-trot 
officialities,  to  concert-clocks,  which,  though  striking  their 
hours  in  flute-melodies,  are  worse  time-keepers  than  your 
gross,  stupid  steeple-clocks. 

To  return  to  St.  Clara's  day.  Fixlein,  after  such  mental 
exertions,  bolted  out  under  the  music-bushes  and  rustling 
trees  ;  and  returned  not  again  out  of  warm  Nature,  till  plate 
and  chair  were  already  placed  at  the  table.  In  the  course 
of  the  repast,  something  occurred  which  a  Biographer  must 
not  omit;  for  his  mother  had,  by  request,  been  wont  to  map 
out  for  him,  during  the  process  of  mastication,  the  chart  of 
his  chird's-world,  relating  all  the  traits  which  in  any  way 
prefigured  what  he  had  now  grown  to.  This  perspective 
sketch  of  his  early  Past  he  committed  to  certain  little  leaves 
which  merit  our  undivided  attention.  For  such  leaves  ex- 
clusively, containing  scenes,  acts,  plays  of  his  childhood,  he 
used  chronologically  to  file  and  arrange  in  separate  drawers 
in  a  little  child's-desk  of  his  ;  and  thus  to  divide  his  Biography, 
as  Moser  did  his  Publicistic  Materials,  into  separate  letter- 
boxes. He  had  boxes  or  drawers  for  memorial-letters  of 
his  twelfth,  of  his  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  &c,  of  his  twenty- 
first  year,  and  so  on.  Whenever  he  chose  to  conclude  a 
day  of  pedagogic  drudgery  by  an  evening  of  peculiar  rest, 
he  simply  pulled  out  a  letter-drawer,  a  register-bar  in  his 
Life-hand-organ,  and  recollected  the  whole. 

And  here  must  I,  in  reference  to  these  reviewing  Mutes, 
who  may  be  for  casting  the  noose  of  strangulation  round 
my  neck,  most  particularly  beg,  that,  before  doing  so  on 
account  of  my  Chapters  being  called  Letter-boxes,  they 
would  have  the  goodness  to  look  whose  blame  it  was,  and 
to  think  whether  I  could  possibly  help  it,  seeing  the  Quintus 


244  RICHTEK. 

had  divided   his   Biography   into  such  Boxes  himself;  they 
have  Christian  bowels. 

But  about  his  elder  brother  he  put  no  saddening  question 
to  his  mother ;  this  poor  boy  a  peculiar  Fate  had  laid  hold 
of,  and  with  all  his  genial  endowment  dashed  to  pieces  on 
the  ice-berg  of  Death.  For  he  chanced  to  leap  on  an  ice- 
board  that  had  jammed  itself  among  several  others  ;  but 
these  recoiled,  and  his  shot  forth  with  him  ;  melted  away  as 
it  floated  under  his  feet,  and  so  sunk  his  heart  of  fire  amid 
the  ice  and  waves.  It  grieved  his  mother  that  he  was  not 
found,  that  her  heart  had  not  been  harrowed  by  the  look  of 
the  swoln  corpse.  —  O  good  mother,  rather  thank  God  for 
it!  — 

After  breakfast,  to  fortify  himself  with  new  vigor  for  his 
desk,  he  for  some  time  strolled  idly  over  the  house,  and, 
like  a  Police  Fire-inspector,  visited  all  the  nooks  of  his  cot- 
tage, to  gather  from  them  here  and  there  a  live  ember  from 
the  ash-covered  rejoicing-fire  of  his  childhood.  He  mounted 
to  the  garret,  to  the  empty  bird-coops  of  his  father,  who  in 
winter  had  been  a  birder  ;  and  he  transiently  reviewed  the 
lumber  of  his  old  playthings,  which  were  lying  in  the  netted 
enclosure  of  a  large  canary  breeding-cage.  In  the  minds 
of  children,  it  is  regular  little  forms,  such  as  those  of  balls 
and  dies,  that  impress  and  express  themselves  most  forcibly. 
From  this  may  the  reader  explain  to  himself  Fixlein's  de- 
light in  the  red  acorn-blockhouse,  in  the  sparwork  glued 
together  out  of  white  chips  and  husks  of  potatoe-plums,  in 
the  cheerful  glass-house  of  a  cube-shaped  lantern,  and  other 
the  like  products  of  his  early  architecture.  The  following, 
however,  I  explain  quite  differently  ;  he  had  ventured,  with- 
out leave  given  from  any  lord  of  the  manor,  to  build  a  clay 
house  ;  not  for  cottagers,  but  for  flies  ;  and  which,  there- 
fore, you  could    readily   enough    have   put  in   your  pocket. 


LIFE    OF    QJJINTUS    FIXLE1N.  245 

This  fly-hospital  had  its  glass  windows,  and  a  red  coat  of 
coloring,  and  very  many  alcoves,  and  three  balconies  ;  bal- 
conies, as  a  sort  of  house  within  a  house,  he  had  loved  from 
of  old  so  much,  that  he  could  scarcely  have  liked  Jerusalem 
well,  where  (according  to  Lightfoot)  no  such  thing  is  per- 
mitted to  be  built.  From  the  glistening  eyes  with  which 
the  architect  had  viewed  his  tenantry  creeping  about  the 
windows,  or  feeding  out  of  the  sugar-trough  —  for,  like  the 
Count  St  Germain,  they  ate  nothing  but  sugar,  —  from  this 
joy  an  adept  in  the  art  of  education  might  easily  have  pro- 
phesied his  turn  for  household  contraction  ;  to  his  fancy,  in 
those  times,  even  gardeners'-huts  were  like  large  waste 
Arks  and  Halls,  and  nothing  bigger  than  such  a  fly-Louvre 
seemed  a  true,  snug,  citizen's-house.  He  now  felt  and 
handled  his  old  high  child's-stool,  which  had  in  former  days 
resembled  the  Sedes  Exploratoria  of  the  Pope ;  he  gave 
his  child's-coach  a  tug  and  made  it  run  ;  but  he  could  not 
understand  what  balsam  and  holiness  so  much  distinguished 
it  from  all  other  child's-coaches.  He  wondered  that  the 
real  sports  of  children  should  not  so  delight  him  as  the  em- 
blems of  these  sports,  when  the  child  that  had  carried  them 
on  was  standing  grown  up  to  manhood  in  his  presence. 

Before  one  article  in  the  house  he  stood  heart-melted  and 
sad  ;  before  a  little  angular  clothes-press,  which  was  no 
higher  than  my  table,  and  which  had  belonged  to  his  poor 
drowned  brother.  When  the  boy  with  the  key  of  it  was 
swallowed  by  the  waves,  the  excruciated  mother  had  made 
a  vow  that  this  toy-press  of  his  should  never  be  broken  up 
by  violence.  Most  probably  there  is  nothing  in  it  but  the 
poor  soul's  playthings.  Let  us  look  away  from  this  bloody 
urn.  —     — 

Bacon  reckons   the   remembrances   of    childhood   among 
wholesome,  medicinal   things;  naturally  enough,   therefore, 
they  acted  like   a  salutary   digestive   on  the   Quintus.     He 
21* 


246  RICHTER. 

could  now  again  betake  him  with  new  heart  to  his  desk,  and 
produce  something  quite  peculiar  —  petitions  for  church 
livings.  He  took  the  Address-calendar,  and,  for  every  coun- 
try parish  that  he  found  in  it,  got  a  petition  in  readiness  ; 
which  he  then  laid  aside,  till  such  time  as  the  present  in- 
cumbent should  decease.  For  Hukelum  alone  he  did  not 
solicit.  —  It  is  a  pretty  custom  in  Flachsenfingen,  that,  for 
every  office  which  is  vacant,  you  are  required,  if  you  want 
it,  to  sue.  As  the  higher  use  of  Prayer  consists  not  in  its 
fulfilment,  but  in  its  accustoming  you  to  pray  ;  so  likewise 
petitionary  papers  ought  to  be  given  in,  not  indeed  that  you 
may  get  the  office  —  this  nothing  but  your  money  can  do  — 
but  that  you  may  learn  to  write  petitions.  In  truth,  if,  among 
the  Calmucks,  the  turning  of  a  calabash*  stands  in  place  of 
Prayer,  a  slight  movement  of  the  purse  may  be  as  much  as 
if  you  supplicated  in  words. 

Towards  evening  —  it  was  Sunday  —  he  went  out  roving 
over  the  village  ;  he  pilgrimed  to  his  old  sporting-places, 
and  to  the  common  where  he  had  so  often  driven  his  snails 
to  pasture  ;  visited  the  peasant  who,  from  school-times  up- 
wards, had  been  wont,  to  the  amazement  of  the  rest,  to  thoui 

*  Their  prayer-barrel,  Kurudu,  is  a  hollowed  shell,  a  calabash, 
full  of  unrolled  formulas  of  prayer;  they  sway  it  from  side  to  side, 
and  then  it  works.  More  philosophically  viewed,  since  in  prayer 
the  feeling  only  is  of  consequence,  it  is  much  the  same  whether 
this  express  itself  by  motion  of  the  mouth  or  of  the  calabash. 

t  In  German,  as  in  some  other  languages,  the  common  mode  of 
address  is  by  the  third  person  ;  plural,  it  indicates  respect ;  singular, 
command  ;  the  second  person  is  also  used  j  plural,  it  generally 
denotes  indifference  ;  singular,  great  familiarity,  and  sometimes  its 
product,  contempt.  Dutzenfreund,  Thouing -friend,  is  the  strictest 
term  of  intimacy;  and  among  the  wild  Burschen  (Students)  many  a 
duel  (happily,  however,  often  ending  like  the  Polemo-Middinia  in  one 
drop  of  blood)  has  been  fought,  in  consequence  of  saying  Du  (thou) 
and  Sie  (they)  in  the  wrong  place.  —  En. 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  247 

him  ;  went,  an  Academic  Tutor,  to  the  Schoolmaster  ;  then 
to  the  Senior  ;  then  to  the  Episcopal-barn  or  church.  This 
last  no  mortal  understands,  till  I  explain  it.  The  case  was 
this.  Some  three-and-forty  years  ago  a  fire  had  destroyed 
the  church  (not  the  steeple),  the  parsonage,  and  —  what 
was  not  to  be  replaced — the  church-records.  (For  this 
reason  it  was  only  the  smallest  portion  of  the  Hukelum 
people  that  knew  exactly  how  old  they  were ;  and  the  mem- 
ory of  our  Quintus  himself  vibrated  between  adopting  the 
thirty-third  year  and  the  thirty-second.)  In  consequence, 
the  preaching  had  now  to  be  carried  on  where  formerly 
there  had  been  threshing ;  and  the  seed  of  the  divine  word 
to  be  turned  over  on  the  same  threshing-floor  with  natural 
corn-seed.  The  Chanter  and  the  Schoolboys  took  up  the 
threshing-floor;  the  female  mother-church-people  stood  on 
the  one  sheaves-loft,  the  Schadeck  womankind  on  the  other ; 
and  their  husbands  clustered  pyramidically,  like  groschen 
and  farthing-gallery  men,  about  the  barn-stairs  ;  and  far  up  on 
the  straw-loft,  mixed  souls  stood  listening.  A  little  flute  was 
their  organ,  an  upturned  beercask  their  altar,  round  which 
they  had  to  walk.  I  confess,  I  myself  could  have  preached 
in  such  a  place,  not  without  humor.  The  Senior  (at  that 
time  still  a  Junior),  while  the  parsonage  was  building,  dwelt 
and  taught  in  the  Castle ;  it  was  here,  accordingly,  that 
Fixlein  had  learned  the  Irregular  Verbs  with  Thien- 
nette. 

These  voyages  of  discovery  completed,  our  Hukelum 
voyager  could  still,  after  evening  prayers,  pick  leaf-insects, 
with  Thiennette,  from  the  roses  ;  worms  from  the  beds,  and 
a  Heaven  of  joy  from  every  minute.  Every  dew-drop  was 
colored  as  with  oil  of  cloves  and  oil  of  gladness  ;  every 
star  was  a  sparkle  from  the  sun  of  happiness  ;  and  in  the 
closed  heart  of  the  maiden,  there  lay  near  to  him,  be- 
hind a  little   wall   of  separation,  (as  near  to  the  Righteous. 


248  RICHTER. 

man  behind  the  thin  wall  of  Life,)  an  outstretched  blooming 
Paradise  ....  I  mean,  she  loved  him  a  little. 

He  might  have  known  it,  perhaps.  But  to  his  compressed 
delight  he  gave  freer  vent,  as  he  went  to  bed,  by  early  re- 
collections on  the  stair.  For  in  his  childhood  he  had  been 
accustomed,  by  way  of  evening-prayer,  to  go  over,  under 
his  coverlid,  as  it  were,  a  rosary,  including  fourteen  Bible 
Proverbs,  the  first  verse  of  the  Psalm,  "  All  people  that  on 
Earth,"  the  Tenth  Commandment,  and,  lastly,  a  long  bless- 
ing. To  get  the  sooner  done  with  it,  he  had  used  to  begin 
his  devotion,  not  only  on  the  stair,  but  before  leaving  that 
place  where  Alexander  studied  men,  and  Semler  stupid 
books.  Moored  in  the  haven  of  the  down-waves,  he  was 
already  over  with  his  evening  supplication  ;  and  could  now, 
without  farther  exertion,  shut  his  eyes  and  plump  into  sleep. 

Thus  does  there  lurk,  in  the   smallest  homunculus,  the 

model  of —  the  Catholic  Church. 

So  far  the  Dog-days  of  Quintus  Zebedaus  Egidius  Fixlein. 
—  I,  for  the  second  time,  close  a  Chapter  of  this  Life,  as 
Life  itself  is  closed,  with  a  sleep. 


THIRD   LETTER-BOX. 

Christmas  Recollections.     New  Occurrence. 

For  all  of  us  the  passage  to  the  grave  is,  alas  !  a  string 
of  empty,  insipid  days,  as  of  glass  pearls,  only  here  and 
there  divided  by  an  orient  one  of  price.  But  you  die  mur- 
muring, unless  like  the  Quintus,  you  regard  your  existence 
as  a  drum  ;  this  has  only  one  single  tone,  but  variety  of  time 
gives  the  sound  of  it  cheerfulness  enough.  Our  Quintus 
taught  in  the  Fourth  Class  ;  vicariated  in  the  Second  ;  wrote 
at  his  desk  by  night ;  and  so  lived  on  the  usual  monotonous 


LIFE    OF    QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  249 

fashion  —  all  the  time  from  the  Holidays  —  till  Christmas- 
eve,  1791  ;  and  nothing  was  remarkable  in  his  history  ex- 
cept this  same  eve,  which  I  am  now  about  to  paint. 

But  I  shall  still  have  time  to  paint  it,  after,  in  the  first 
place,  explaining  shortly  how,  like  birds  of  passage,  he 
had  contrived  to  soar  away  over  the  dim,  cloudy  Harvest. 
The  secret  was,  he  set  upon  the  Hamburg  Political  Journal, 
with  which  the  lackeys  of  Schadeck  had  been  for  papering 
their  buttons.  He  could  now  calmly,  with  his  back  at  the 
stove,  accompany  the  winter  campaigns  of  the  foregoing 
year  ;  and  fly  after  every  battle,  as  the  ravens  did  after  that 
of  Pharsalia.  On  the  printed  paper  he  could  still,  with  joy 
and  admiration,  walk  round  our  German  triumphal  arches 
and  scaffoldings  for  fireworks ;  while  to  the  people  in  the 
town,  who  got  only  the  newest  newspapers,  the  very  frag- 
ments of  these  our  trophies,  maliciously  torn  down  by  the 
French,  were  scarcely  discernible  ;  nay,  with  old  plans  he 
could  drive  back  and  discomfit  the  enemy,  while  later  read- 
ers in  vain  tried  to  resist  them  with  new  ones. 

Moreover,  not  only  did  the  facility  of  conquering  the 
French  prepossess  him  in  favor  of  this  journal  ;  but  also 
the  circumstance  that  it  —  cost  him  nothing.  His  attach- 
ment to  gratis  reading  was  decided.  And  does  not  this 
throw  light  on  the  fact  that  he,  as  Morhof  advised,  was 
wont  sedulously  to  collect  the  separate  leaves  of  waste- 
paper  books  as  they  came  from  the  grocer,  and  to  rake 
among  the  same,  as  Virgil  did  in  Ennius?  Nay,  for  him 
the  grocer  was  a  Fortius  (the  scholar),  or  a  Frederick  (the 
king),  both  which  persons  were  in  the  habit  of  simply  cut- 
ting from  complete  books  such  leaves  as  contained  anything. 
It  was  also  this  respect  for  all  waste-paper  that  inspired  him 
with  such  esteem  for  the  aprons  of  French  cooks,  which  it 
is  well  known  consist  of  printed  paper  ;  and  he  often  wished 
some  German  would   translate   these  aprons  ;  indeed   I   am 


250  RICHTER. 

willing  to  believe  that  a  good  version  of  more  than  one  of 
such  paper  aprons  might  contribute  to  elevate  our  Literature 
(this  Muse  d  belles  f esses),  and  serve  her  in  place  of  drivel- 
bib. —  On  many  things  a  man  puts  a  pretium  affectionis, 
simply  because  he  hopes  he  may  have  half  stolen  them  ;  on 
this  principle,  combined  with  the  former,  our  Quintus 
adopted  into  his  belief  anything  he  could  snap  away  from  an 
open  Lecture,  or  as  a  visitor  in  class-rooms;  opinions  only 
for  which  the  Professor  must  be  paid,  he  rigorously  exam- 
ined.—  I  return  to  the  Christmas-eve. 

At  the   very  first,  Egidius   was  glad,  because  out  of  doors 
millers  and  bakers  were  at  fisty-cuffs  (as  we  say  of  drifting 
snow  in  large   flakes),  and  the  ice-flowers  of  the  window 
were  blossoming ;    for   external  frost,   with   a   snug  warm 
room,  was  what  he  liked.     He  could  now  put  fir  wood  into 
his  stove,   and   Mocha  coffee  into  his  stomach  ;  and  shove 
his  right  foot  (not  into  the  slipper,  but)  under  the  warm  side 
of  his  Shock,  and   also  on  the   left  keep  swinging  his  pet 
Starling,  which  was  pecking  at  the  snout  of  old  Schil ;  and 
then  with  the  right  hand  —  with  the  left  he  was  holding  his 
pipe — proceed,   so   undisturbed,  so    entrenched,  so  cloud- 
capt,  without  the  smallest  breath  of  frost,  to  the  highest  en- 
terprise  which    a    Quintus   can    attempt,  —  to    writing   the 
Class-prodromus  of  the  Flachsenfingen  Gymnasium,  namely 
the  eighth  part  thereof.     I  hold  the  first  printing   in  the 
history  of  a   literary  man  to  be   more  important   than  the 
first  printing  in  the  history  of  Letters.    Fixlein   could  not 
sate  himself  with  specifying  what  he  purposed,  God  willing, 
in  the  following  year,  to   treat  of;  and  accordingly,  more 
for  the   sake  of  printing  than  of  use,   he  farther  inserted 
three   or   four   pedagogic    glances   at    the   plan    of    opera- 
tions to    be   followed   by  his  schoolmaster   colleagues  as  a 
body. 

He  lastly  introduced  a  few  dashes,  by  way  of  hooking  his 


LIFE    OF    QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  251 

thoughts  together ;  and  then  laid  aside  the  Opus,  and  would 
no  longer  look  at  it,  that  so,  when  printed,  he  might  stand 
astonished  at  his  own  thoughts.  And  now  he  could  take  the 
Leipzig  Fair  Catalogue,  which  he  purchased  yearly,  instead 
of  the  books  therein,  and  open  it  without  a  sigh ;  he  too  was 
in  print,  as  well  as  I  am. 

The  happy  fool,  while  writing,  had  shaken  his  head, 
rubbed  his  hands,  hitched  about  on  his  chair,  puckered  his 
face,  and  sucked  the  end  of  his  cue.  —  He  could  now 
spring  up  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  to  recreate  him- 
self; and  across  the  magic  vapor  of  his  pipe,  like  a  new- 
caught  bird,  move  up  and  down  in  his  cage.  On  the  warm 
smoke  the  long  galaxy  of  street-lamps  was  gleaming  ;  and  red 
on  his  bed-curtains  lay  the  fitful  reflection  of  the  blazing  win- 
dows and  illuminated  trees  in  the  neighborhood.  And  now  he 
shook  away  the  snow  of  Time  from  the  winter-green  of 
Memory;  and  beheld  the  fair  years  of  his  childhood,  un- 
covered, fresh,  green,  and  balmy,  standing  afar  off  before 
him.  From  his  distance  of  twenty  years,  he  looked  into 
the  quiet  cottage  of  his  parents,  where  his  father  and  his 
brother  had  not  yet  been  reaped  away  by  the  sickle  of 
Death.  He  said  to  himself :  "  I  will  go  through  the  whole 
Christmas-eve  from  the  very  dawn,  as  I  had  it  of  old." 

At  his  very  rising  he  finds  spangles  on  the  table ;  sacred 
spangles  from  the  gold-leaf  and  silver-leaf  with  which  the 
Christ-child  *  has  been  emblazoning  and  coating  his  apples 

*  These  antique  Christmas  festivities  Richter  describes  with  equal 
gusto  in  another  work  (Briefe  und  Zukilnftige  Lebenslemf)  ;  where 
the  Christ-child  (falsely  reported  to  the  young  ones  to  have  been 
seen  flying  through  the  air,  with  gold  wings)  ;  the  Birch-bough 
fixed  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  and  by  him  made  to  grow  ;  the  fruit 
of  gilt  sweetmeats,  apples,  nuts,  which  (for  good  boys)  it  sud- 
denly produces,  &c,  &c,  are  specified  with  the  same  fidelity  as 
here.  —  Ed.  , 


252  RICHTER. 

and  nuts,  the  presents  of  the  night.  — On  the  mint-balance 
of  joy,  this  metallic  foam  pulls  heavier  than  the  golden  cars, 
and  golden  Pythagoras'-legs,  and  golden  Philistine-mice  of 
wealthier  capitalists.  —  Then  came  his  mother,  bringing  him 
both  Christianity  and  clothes  ;  for  in  drawing  on  his  trowsers, 
she  easily  recapitulated  the  Ten  Commandments,  and,  in 
tying  his  garters,  the  Apostles'  Creed.  So  soon  as  candle- 
light was  over,  and  day-light  come,  he  clambers  to  the  arm 
of  the  settle,  and  then  measures  the  nocturnal  growth  of  the 
yellow  wiry  grove  of  Christmas-Birch;  and  devotes  far  less 
attention  than  usual  to  the  little  white  winter-flowerage, 
which  the  seeds  shaken  from  the  bird-cage  are  sending  forth 
in  the  wet  joints  of  the  window-panes. — I  nowise  grudge 
J.  J.  Rousseau  his  Flora  Petrinsularis ;  f  but  let  him  also 
allow  our  Quintus  his  Window -flora.  —  There  was  no  such 
thing  as  school  all  day ;  so  he  had  time  enough  to  seek  his 
Flescher  (his  brother),  and  commence  (when  could  there  be 
finer  frost  for  it?)  the  slaughtering  of  their  winter-meat. 
Some  days  before,  the  brother,  at  the  peril  of  his  life  and  of 
a  cudgelling,  had  caught  their  stalled-beast — so  they  called 
the  sparrow  —  under  a  window-sill  in  the  Castle.  Their 
slaughtering  wants  not  an  axe  (of  wood),  nor  puddings,  nor 
potted  meat.  —  About  three  o'clock  the  old  Gardener,  whom 
neighbors  must  call  the  Professor  of  Gardening,  takes  his 
place  on  his  large  chair,  with  his  Cologne  tobacco-pipe  ;  and 
after  this  no  mortal  shall  work  a  stroke.  He  tells  nothing 
but  lies  ;  of  the  aeronautic  Christ-child,  and  the  jingling 
Ruprecht  with  his  bells.  In  the  dusk,  our  little  Quintus 
takes  an  apple  ;  divides  it  into  all  the  figures  of  stereometry, 
and  spreads  the  fragments  in  two  heaps  on  the  table  ;  then 
as  the   lighted  candle  enters,  he  starts  up  in  amazement  at 


t  Which  he   purposed  to   make  for  his  Island  of  St.  Pierre  in  the 
Bienne  Lake. 


LIFE    OF    QJJ1NTUS    FIXLEIN.  253 

the  unexpected  present,  and  says  to  his  brother :  "  Look 
what  the  good  Christ-child  has  given  thee  and  me  ;  and  I 
saw  one  of  his  wings  glittering."  And  for  this  same  glitter- 
ing he  himself  lies  in  wait  the  whole  evening. 

About  eight  o'clock,  —  here  he  walks  chiefly  by  the 
chronicle  of  his  letter-drawer,  —  both  of  them,  with  necks 
almost  excoriated  with  washing,  and  in  clean  linen,  and  in 
universal  anxiety  lest  the  Holy  Christ-child  find  them  up, 
are  put  to  bed.  What  a  magic  night!  What  tumult  of 
dreaming  hopes! — The  populous,  motley,  glittering  cave 
of  Fancy  opens  itself,  in  the  length  of  the  night,  and  in  the 
exhaustion  of  dreamy  effort,  still  darker  and  darker,  fuller 
and  more  grotesque  ;  but  the  awakening  gives  back  to  the 
thirsty  heart  its  hopes.  All  accidental  tones,  the  cries  of 
animals,  of  watchmen,  are,  for  the  timidly  devout  Fancy, 
sounds  out  of  Heaven  ;  singing  voices  of  Angels  in  the  air, 
church-music  of  the  morning  worship.  — 

Ah !  it  was  not  the  mere  Lubberland  of  sweetmeats  and 
playthings,  which  then,  with  its  perspective,  stormed  like  a 
river  of  joy  against  the  chambers  of  our  hearts  ;  and  which 
yet  in  the  moonlight  of  memory,  with  its  dusky  landscapes, 
melts  our  souls  in  sweetness.  Ah  !  this  was  it,  that  then 
for  our  boundless  wishes  there  were  still  boundless  hopes  ; 
but  now  reality  is  round  us,  and  the  wishes  are  all  that  we 
have  left ! 

At  last  came  rapid  lights  from  the  neighborhood  playing 
through  the  window  on  the  walls,  and  the  Christmas  trum- 
pets, and  the  crowing  from  the  steeple  hurries  both  the  boys 
from  their  bed.  With  their  clothes  in  their  hands,  without 
fear  for  the  darkness,  without  feeling  for  the  morning-frost, 
rushing,  intoxicated,  shouting,  they  hurry  down  stairs  into 
the  dark  room.  Fancy  riots  in  the  pastry  and  fruit  perfume 
of  the  still  eclipsed  treasures,  and  paints  her  air-castles  by 
the    glimmering   of    the    Hesperides-fruit   with    which    the 

vol.  ii.  22 


254 


RICHTER. 


Birch-tree  is  loaded.  While  their  mother  strikes  a  light, 
the  falling  sparks  sportfully  open  and  shroud  the  dainties  on 
the  table,  and  the  many-colored  grove  on  the  wall ;  and  a 
single  atom  of  that  fire  bears  on  it  a  hanging  garden  of 
Eden.—     —     — 

—  On   a   sudden    all   grew   light ;    and   the   Quintus  got 
—  the  Conrectorship,  and  a  table-clock. 


FOURTH    LETTER-BOX. 

Office-lrokage.  Discovery  of  the  promised  Secret.  Hans 
von  Fuchslein. 

For  while  the  Quintus,  in  his  vapory  chamber  was  thus 
running  over  the  sounding-board  of  his  early  years,  the 
Rathsdiener,  or  City-officer,  entered  with  a  lantern  and  the 
Presentation ;  and  behind  him  the  courier  of  the  Frau  von 
Aufhammer  with  a  note  and  a  table-clock.  The  Rittmeis- 
terinn  had  transformed  her  payment  for  the  Dog-days  sick- 
bed-exhortation into  a  Christmas  present ;  which  consisted, 
first  of  a  table-clock,  with  a  wooden  ape  thereon,  starting 
out  when  the  hour  struck,  and  drumming  along  with  every 
stroke  ;  secondly,  of  the  Conrectorate,  which  she  had  pro- 
cured for  him. 

As  in  the  public  this  appointment  from  the  private 
Flachsenfingen  Council  has  not  been  judged  of  as  it  de- 
served, I  consider  it  my  duty  to  offer  a  defence  for  the  body 
corporate  ;  and  that  rather  here  than  in  the  Reichsanzeiger, 
or  Imperial  Indicator.  —  I  have  already  mentioned,  in  the 
Second  Letter-Box,  that  the  Town-Syndic  drove  a  trade  in 
Hamburg  candles ;  and  the  then  Burgermeister  in  coffee- 
beans,  which  he  sold  as  well  whole  as  ground.  Their  joint 
traffic,  however,   which  they  carried  on  exclusively,  was  in 


LIFE    OF     OJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  255 

the  eight  School-offices  of  Flachsenfingen ;  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Council  acting  only  as  bale-wrappers,  shopmen, 
and  accountants  in  the  Council  wareroom.  A  Council- 
house,  indeed,  is  like  an  India-house,  where  not  only  resolu- 
tions or  appointments,  but  also  shoes  and  cloth,  are  exposed 
to  sale.  Properly  speaking,  the  Councillor  derives  his 
freedom  of  office-trading  from  that  principle  of  the  Roman 
law,  Cui  jus  est  donandi,  eidem  et  vendendi  jus  est ;  that  is 
to  say,  He  who  has  the  right  of  giving  anything  away  has 
also  a  right  to  dispose  of  it  for  money,  if  he  can.  Now  as  the 
Council-members  have  palpably  the  right  of  conferring 
offices  gratis,  the  right  of  selling  them  must  follow  of 
course. 

Short  Extra-word  on  Appointment-brokers  in  general. 

My  chief  anxiety  is  lest  the  Academy-product-sale-Com- 
mission  *  of  the  State  carry  on  its  office-trade  too  slackly. 
And  what  but  the  commonweal  must  suffer  in  the  long  run, 
if  important  posts  are  distributed,  not  according  to  the  cur- 
rent cash  which  is  laid  down  for  them,  but  according  to 
connexions,  relationships,  party  recommendations,  and  bow- 
ings and  cringings  ?  Is  it  not  a  contradiction,  to  charge 
titulary  offices  dearer  than  real  ones  ?  Should  one  not 
rather  expect  that  the  real  Hofrath  would  pay  higher  by  the 
alterum  tantum  than  the  mere  titulary  Hofrath  ?  —  Money, 
among  European  nations,  is  now  the  equivalent  and  repre- 
sentative of  value  in  all  things,  and  consequently  in  under- 
standing; the  rather  as  ahead  is  stamped  on  it;  to  pay 
down  the   purchase   money  of  an  office  is  therefore  neither 


*  Borrowed  from  the  "  Imperial  Mine-product-sale-Commis- 
sion,"  in  Vienna.  In  their  very  names  these  Vienna  people  show 
taste. 


256 


RICHTER. 


more  nor  less  than  to  stand  an  examen  rigorosum,  which  is 
held  by  a  good  schema  examinandi.  To  invert  this,  to  pre- 
tend exhibiting  your  qualifications,  in  place  of  these  their 
surrogates,  and  assignates,  and  monnoie  de  conjiance,  is  sim- 
ply to  resemble  the  crazy  philosophers  in  Gulliver's  Travels^ 
who,  for  social  converse,  instead  of  names  of  things, 
brought  the  things  themselves  tied  up  in  a  bag  ;  it  is,  indeed, 
plainly  as  much  as  trying  to  fall  back  into  the  barbarous 
times  of  trade  by  barter,  when  the  Romans,  instead  of  the 
figured  cattle  on  their  leather  money,  drove  forth  the  beeves 
themselves. 

From  all  such  injudicious  notions  I  myself  am  so  far  re- 
moved, that  often,  when  I  used  to  read  that  the  King  of 
France  was  devising  new  offices,  to  stand  and  sell  them 
under  the  booth  of  his  Baldaquin,  I  have  set  myself  1o  do 
something  of  the  like.  This  I  shall  now  at  least  calmly 
propose  ;  not  vexing  my  heart  whether  Governments  choose 
to  adopt  it  or  not.  As  our  Sovereign  will  not  allow  us  to 
multiply  offices  purely  for  sale,  nay,  on  the  contrary,  is  day 
and  night  (like  managers  of  strolling  companies)  meditating 
how  to  give  more  parts  to  one  State-actor ;  and  thus  to  the 
Three  Stage  Unities  to  add  a  Fourth,  that  of  Players  ;  as 
the  above  French  method,  therefore,  will  not  apply,  could 
we  not  at  least  contrive  to  invent  some  Virtues  harmonizing 
with  the  offices,  along  with  which  they  might  be  sold  as 
titles?  Might  we  not,  for  instance,  with  the  office  of  a 
Referendary,  put  off  at  the  same  time  a  titular  Incorrupti- 
bility, for  a  fair  consideration  ;  and  so  that  this  virtue,  as 
not  belonging  to  the  office,  must  be  separately  paid  for  by 
the  candidate  ?  Such  a  market-title  and  patent  of  nobility 
could  not  but  be  ornamental  to  a  Referendary.  We  forget 
that  in  former  times  such  high  titles  were  appended  to  all 
posts  whatsoever.  The  scholastic  Professor  then  wrote  him- 
self (besides  his  official  designation)  "The  Seraphic,"  "The 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN. 


257 


Incontrovertible,"  "  The  Penetrating  ; v  the  King  wrote 
himself,  "  The  Great,"  "  The  Bald,"  "  The  Bold,"  and  so 
also  did  the  Rabbins.  Could  it  be  unpleasant  to  gentlemen 
in  the  higher  stations  of  Justice,  if  the  titles  of  Impartiality, 
Rapidity,  &c,  might  be  conferred  on  them  by  sale,  as  well 
as  the  posts  themselves  ?  Thus  with  the  appointment  of  a 
Kammerrath,  or  Councillor  of  Revenue,  the  virtue  of  Pat- 
riotism might  fitly  be  conjoined  ;  and  I  believe,  few  Advo- 
cates would  grudge  purchasing  the  title  of  Integrity  (as 
well  as  their  common  one  of  Government-advocacy),  were 
it  to  be  had  in  the  market.  If,  however,  any  candidate 
chose  to  take  his  post  without  the  virtues,  then  it  would 
stand  with  himself  to  do  so,  and  in  the  adoption  of  this  re- 
flex morality  Government  should  not  constrain  him. 

It  might  be  that,  as,  according  to  Tristram  Shandy, 
clothes,  according  to  Walter  Shandy  and  Lavater,  proper 
names,  exert  an  influence  on  men,  appellatives  would  do  so 
still  more  ;  since,  on  us,  as  on  testaceous  animals,  the  foam 
so  often  hardens  into  shell ;  but  such  internal  morality  is 
not  a  thing  the  State  can  have  an  eye  to  ;  for,  as  in  the  fine 
arts,  it  is  not  this  but  the  representation  of  it  which  forms 
her  true  aim. 

I  have  found  it  rather  difficult  to  devise  for  our  different 
offices  different  verbal -virtues ;  but  I  should  think  there 
might  many  such  divisions  of  Virtue  (at  this  moment,  Love 
of  Freedom,  Public-spirit,  Sincerity,  and  Uprightness  occur 
to  me)  be  hunted  out;  were  but  some  well-disposed  minister 
of  state  to  appoint  a  Virtue-board  or  Moral  Address  Depart- 
ment, with  some  half  dozen  secretaries,  who,  for  a  small 
salary,  might  devise  various  virtues  for  the  various  posts. 
Were  I  in  their  place,  I  should  hold  a  good  prism  before  the 
white  ray  of  Virtue,  and  divide  it  completely.  Pity  that  it 
were  not  crimes  we  wanted  —their  subdivision  I  mean  ;  — 
our  country  Judges  might  then  be  selected  for  this  purpose. 
22* 


258 


RICHTER. 


For  in  their  tribunals,  where  only  inferior  jurisdiction,  and 
no  penalty  above  five  florins  Frankish,  is  admitted,  they 
have  a  daily  training  how  out  of  every  mischief  to  make 
several  small  ones,  none  of  which  they  ever  punish  to  a 
greater  amount  than  their  five  florins.  This  is  a  precious 
moral  Roljinkenism,  which  our  Jurists  have  learned  from 
the  great  Sin-cutters,  St.  Augustin  and  his  Sorbonne,  who 
together  have  carved  more  sins  on  Adam's  Sin-apple  than 
ever  Rolfinken  did  faces  on  a  cherrystone.  How  different 
one  of  our  Judges  from  a  Papal  Casuist,  who,  by  side- 
scrapings,  will  rasp  you  down  the  best  deadly  sin  into  a 
venial  !  — 

School-offices  (to  come  to  these)  are  a  small  branch  of 
traffic  certainly  ;  yet  still  they  are  monarchies,  —  school- 
monarchies,  to  wit, —  resembling  the  Polish  crown,  which, 
according  to  Pope's  verse,  is  twice  exposed  to  sale  in  the 
century  ;  a  statement,  I  need  hardly  say,  arithmetically 
false,  Newton  having  settled  the  average  duration  of  a  reign 
at  twenty-two  years.  For  the  rest,  whether  the  city  Council 
bring  the  young  of  the  community  a  Hamel's  Rat-and- 
ChWd-catcher  ;  or  a  Weissen's  Child's -friend,  —  this  to  the 
Council  can  make  no  difference  ;  seeing  the  Schoolmaster 
is  not  a  horse,  for  whose  secret  defects  the  horse-dealer  is 
to  be  responsible.  It  is  enough  if  Town-Syndic  and  Co.  can- 
not reproach  themselves  with  having  picked  out  any  fellow  of 
genius  ;  for  a  genius,  as  he  is  useless  to  the  State,  except  for 
recreation  and  ornament,  would  at  the  very  least  exclude 
the  duller,  cooler  head,  who  properly  forms  the  true  care 
and  profit  of  the  State  ;  as  your  costly  carat-pearl  is  good 
for  show  alone,  but  coarse  grain-pearls  for  medicine.  On 
the  whole,  if  a  schoolmaster  be  adequate  to  flog  his  schol- 
ars, it  should  suffice  ;  and  I  cannot  but  blame  our  Commis- 
sion of  Inspectors,  when  they  go  examining  schools,  that  they 
do  not  make  the  schoolmaster  go  through   the  duly  of  firk- 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  259 

ing  one  or  two  young  persons  of  his  class  in  their  presence, 
by  way  of  trial,  to  see  what  is  in  him. 

End  of  the   Extra-word  on  Appointment-brokers  in 
general. 

Now  again  to  our  history !  The  Councillor  Heads  of  the 
Firm  had  conferred  the  Conrectorate  on  my  hero,  not  only 
with  a  view  to  the  continued  consumpt  of  candles  and  beans, 
but  also  on  the  strength  of  a  quite  mad  notion  ;  they  be- 
lieved the  Quintus  would  very  soon  die. 

—  And  here  I  have  reached  a  most  important  circum- 
stance in  this  History,  and  one  into  which  I  have  yet  let  no 
mortal  look  ;  now,  however,  it  no  longer  depends  on  my  will 
whether  I  shall  shove  aside  the  folding-screen  from  it  or  not ; 
but  I  must  positively  lay  it  open,  nay,  hang  a  reverberating- 
lamp  over  it. 

fn  medical  history,  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  in  certain 
families  the  people  all  die  precisely  at  the  same  age,  just  as 
in  these  families  they  are  all  born  at  the  same  age  (of  nine 
months)  ;  nay,  from  Voltaire,  I  recollect  one  family,  the 
members  of  which  at  the  same  age  all  killed  themselves. 
Now,  in  the  Fixleinic  lineage,  it  was  the  custom  that  the 
male  ascendants  uniformly  on  Cantata-Sunday,  in  their 
thirty-second  year,  took  to  bed  and  died  ;  every  one  of  my 
readers  would  do  well  to  insert  in  his  copy  of  the  Thirty 
Years'1  War,  Schiller  having  entirely  omitted  it,  the  fact, 
that,  in  the  course  thereof,  one  Fixlein  died  of  the  plague, 
another  of  hunger,  another  of  a  musket-bullet ;  all  in  their 
thirty-second  year.  True  Philosophy  explains  the  matter 
thus  :  "The  first  two  or  three  times,  it  happened  purely  by 
accident ;  and  the  other  times,  the  people  died  of  sheer 
fright;  if  nol  so,  the  whole  fact  is  rather  to  be  question- 
ed." 


260  R1CHTER. 

But  what  did  Fixlein  make  of  the  affair  ?  Little  or  noth- 
ing ;  the  only  thing  he  did  was,  that  he  took  little  or  no 
pains  to  fall  in  love  with  Thiennette ;  that  so  no  other  might 
have  cause  for  fear  on  his  account.  He  himself,  however, 
for  five  reasons,  minded  it  so  little,  that  he  hoped  to  be 
older  than  Senior  Astmann  before  he  died.  First,  because 
three  Gipsies,  in  three  different  places,  and  at  three  differ- 
ent times,  had  each  shown  him  the  same  long  vista  of  years 
in  her  magic  mirror.  Secondly,  because  he  had  a  sound 
constitution.  Thirdly,  because  his  own  brother  had  formed 
an  exception,  and  perished  before  the  thirties.  Fourthly, 
on  this  ground  :  When  a  boy  he  had  fallen  sick  of  sorrow, 
on  the  very  Cantata-Sunday  when  his  father  was  lying  in 
the  winding-sheet,  and  only  been  saved  from  death  by  his 
playthings ;  and  with  this  Cantata-sickness,  he  conceived 
that  he  had  given  the  murderous  Genius  of  his  race  the  slip. 
Fifthly,  the  church-books  being  destroyed,  and  with  them 
the  certainty  of  his  age,  he  could  never  fall  into  a  right 
definite  deadly  fear  :  "  It  may  be,"  said  he,  "  that  I  have 
got  whisked  away  over  this  whoreson  year,  and  no  one  the 
wiser.'"  I  will  not  deny  that  last  year  he  had  fancied  he 
was  two-and-thirty  ;  "  however,"  said  he,  "  if  I  am  not  to  be 
so  till,  God  willing,  the  next  (1792),  it  may  run  away  as 
smoothly  as  the  last ;  am  I  not  always  in  His  keeping  ? 
And  were  it  unjust  if  the  pretty  years  that  were  broken  off 
from  the  life  of  my  brother  should  be  added  to  mine  ?  "  — 
Thus,  under  the  cold  snow  of  the  Present,  does  poor  man 
strive  to  warm  himself,  or  to  mould  out  of  it  a  fair  snow- 
man. 

The  Councillor  Oligarchy,  however,  built  upon  the  oppo- 
site opinion  ;  and,  like  a  Divinity,  elevated  our  Quintus  all 
at  once  from  the  Quintusship  to  the  Conrectorate  ;  swearing 
to  themselves  that  he  would  soon  vacate  it  again.  Properly 
speaking,  by  school-seniority,  this  holy  chair  should   have 


LIFE    OF    QJJINTUS    FIXLE1N. 


261 


belonged  to  the  Subrector  Hans  von  Fuchslein ;  but  he 
wished  it  not ;  being  minded  to  become  Hukelum  Parson  ; 
especially,  as  Astmann's  Death-angel,  according  to  sure 
intelligence,  was  opening  more  and  more  widely  the  door 
of  this  spiritual  sheepfold.  "  If  the  fellow  weather  another 
year,  'tis  more  than  I  expect,"  said  Hans. 

This  Hans  was  such  a  churl,  that  it  is  pity  he  had  not 
been  a  Hanoverian  Postboy ;  that  so,  by  the  Mandate  of  the 
Hanoverian  Government,  enjoining  on  all  its  Post-officers 
an  elegant  style  of  manners,  he  might  have  somewhat 
refined  himself.  To  our  poor  Quintus,  whom  no  mortal 
disliked,  and  who  again  could  hate  no  mortal,  he  alone 
bore  a  grudge  ;  simply  because  Fixlein  did  not  write  him- 
self Fuchslein,  and  had  not  chosen  along  with  him  to  pur- 
chase a  Patent  of  Nobility.  The  Subrector,  on  this  his 
Patent  triumphal  chariot,  drawn  by  a  team  of  four  specified 
ancestors,  was  obliged  to  see  the  Quintus,  who  was  related 
to  him,  clutching  by  the  lackey-straps  behind  the  carriage  ; 
and  to  hear  him,  in  the  most  despicable  raiment,  saying  to 
the  train :  "  He  that  rides  there  is  my  cousin,  and  a  mortal, 
and  I  always  remind  him  of  it."  The  mild,  compliant  Quin- 
tus never  noticed  this  large  wasp-poisonbag  in  the  Subrector, 
but  took  it  for  a  honeybag  ;  nay,  by  his  brotherly  warmness, 
which  the  nobleman  regarded  as  mere  show,  he  concreted 
these  venomous  juices  into  still  feller  consistency.  The 
Quintus,  in  his  simplicity,  took  Fiichslein's  contempt  for 
envy  of  his  pedagogic  talents. 

A  Catherinenhof,  an  Annenhof,  an  Elizabethhof,  Stralen- 
hof,  and  Petershof,  all  these  Russian  pleasure  palaces,  a 
man  can  dispense  with  (if  not  despise),  who  has  a  room, 
in  which  on  Christmas-eve  he  walks  about  with  a  Presenta- 
tion in  his  hand.  The  new  Conrector  now  longed  for 
nothing  but  —  daylight;  joys  always  (cares  never)  nibbled 
from    him,    like    sparrows,    his   sleepgrains ;    and    to-night, 


262  RICHTER. 

moreover,  the  registrator  of  his  glad  time,  the  clock-ape, 
drummed  out  every  hour  to  him,  which,  accordingly,  he 
spent  in  gay  dreaming,  rather  than  in  sound  snoring. 

On  Christmas-morn  he  looked  at  his  Class-prodromus, 
and  thought  but  little  of  it  ;  he  scarcely  knew  what  to  make 
of  his  last  night's  foolish  inflation  about  bis  Quintusship. 
"  The  Quintus-post,"  said  he  to  himself,  "is  not  to  be  named 
in  the  same  day  with  the  Conrectorate ;  I  wonder  how  I 
could  parade  so  last  night  before  my  promotion  ;  at  present, 
I  had  more  reason."  To-day  he  eat,  as  on  all  Sundays 
and  holydays,  with  the  Master-Butcher  Steinberger,  his 
former  Guardian.  To  this  man  Fixlein  was,  what  common 
people  are  always^  but  polished,  philosophical,  and  senti- 
mental people  very  seldom  are, —  thankful;  a  man  thanks 
you  the  less  for  presents,  the  more  inclined  he  is  to  give 
presents  of  his  own  ;  and  the  beneficent  is  rarely  a  grateful 
person.  Meister  Steinberger,  in  the  character  of  store- 
master,  had  introduced  into  the  wire-cage  of  a  garret,  where 
Fixlein,  while  a  Student  at  Leipzig,  was  suspended,  many 
a  well-tilled  trough  with  good  canary-meat,  of  hung-beef, 
of  household  bread,  and  Sauerkraut.  Money  indeed  was 
never  to  be  wrung  from  him ;  it  is  well  known  that  he  often 
sent  the  best  calfskins  gratis  to  the  tanner,  to  be  boots  for 
our  Quintus  ;  but  the  tanning-charges  the  Ward  himself  had 
to  bear. —  On  Fixlein's  entrance,  as  was  at  all  times  cus- 
tomary, a  smaller  damask  table-cloth  was  laid  upon  the 
large  coarser  one  ;  the  arm-chair,  silver  implements,  and 
a  wine-soup  were  handed  him  ;  mere  waste,  which,  as  the 
Guardian  used  to  say,  suited  well  enough  for  a  Scholar ; 
but  for  a  Flescher  not  at  all.  Fixlein  first  took  his  victuals, 
and  then  signified  that  he  was  made  Conrector.  "  Ward," 
said  Steinberger,  "if  you  are  made  that,  it  is  well. —  Seest 
thou,  Eva,  I  cannot  buy  a  tail  of  thy  cows  now  ;  I  must 
have  smelt  it  beforehand."     He   was   hereby  informing  his 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  263 

daughter  that  the  cash  set  apart  for  the  fatted  cattle  must 
now  be  applied  to  the  Conrectorate  ;  for  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  advancing  all  instalment-dues  to  his  Ward,  at  an  interest 
of  four  and  a  half  per  cent.  Fifty  gulden  he  had  already 
lent  the  Quintus  on  his  advancement  to  the  Quintusship ; 
of  these  the  interest  had  to  be  duly  paid  ;  yet,  on  the  day 
of  payment,  the  Quintus  always  got  some  abatement;  being 
wont  every  Sunday  after  dinner  to  instruct  his  guardian's 
daughter  in  arithmetic,  writing,  and  geography.  Steinberger 
with  justice  required  of  his  own  grown-up  daughter  that  she 
should  know  all  the  towns  where  he  in  his  wanderings  as  a 
journeyman  had  slain  fat  oxen  ;  and  if  she  slipped,  or  wrote 
crookedly,  or  subtracted  wrong,  he  himself,  as  Academical 
Senate  and  Justiciary,  was  standing  behind  her  chair,  ready, 
so  to  speak,  with  the  forge-hammer  of  his  fist  to  beat  out 
the  dross  from  her  brain,  and  at  a  few  strokes  hammer  it 
into  right  ductility.  The  soft  Quintus,  for  his  part,  had 
never  struck  her.  On  this  account  she  had  perhaps,  with  a 
few  glances,  appointed  him  executor  and  assignee  of  her 
heart.  The  old  Flescher  —  simply  because  his  wife  was 
dead —  had  constantly  been  in  the  habit  of  searching  with 
mine-lamps  and  pokers  into  all  the  corners  of  Eva's  heart ; 
and  had  in  consequence  long  ago  observed  —  what  the 
Quintus  never  did  —  that  she  had  a  mind  for  the  said  Quin- 
tus. Young  women  conceal  their  sorrows  more  easily  than 
their  joys ;  to-clay,  at  the  mention  of  this  Conrectorate,  Eva 
had  become  unusually  red. 

When  she  went  after  breakfast  to  bring  in  coffee,  which 
the  Ward  had  to  drink  down  to  the  grounds  :  "  I  beat  Eva 
to  death  if  she  but  look  at  him,"  .said  he.  Then  addressing 
Fixlein  :  "  Hear  you,  Ward,  did  you  never  cast  an  eye  on 
my  Eva  ?  She  can  suffer  you,  and  if  you  want  her,  you  get 
her;  but  we  have  done  with  one  another;  for  a  learned  man 
needs  quite  another  sort  of  thing." 


261  RICHTER. 

"  Herr  Regiments-Quartermaster,"  said  Fixlein  (for  this 
post  Steinberger  filled  in  the  provincial  Militia),  "  such  a 
match  were  far  too  rich,  at  any  rate,  for  a  Schoolman." 
The  Quartermaster  nodded  fifty  times ;  and  then  said  to 
Eva,  as  she  returned,  —  at  the  same  time  taking  down 
from  the  shelf  a  wooden  crook,  on  which  he  used  to 
rack  out  and  suspend  his  slain  calves  :  "  Stop  !  —  Hark, 
dost  wish  the  present  Herr  Conrector  here  for  thy  hus- 
band ?  " 

M  Ah,  good  Heaven  !  "  said  Eva. 

"  Mayst  wish  him  or  not,"  continued  the  Flescher; 
"  with  this  crook  thy  father  knocks  thy  brains  out,  if 
thou  but  think  of  a  learned  man.  Now  make  his  coffee. " 
And  so  by  the  dissevering  stroke  of  this  wooden  crook  was 
a  love  easily  smitten  asunder,  which  in  a  higher  rank,  by 
such  cutting  through  it  with  the  sword,  would  only  have 
foamed  and  hissed  the  keenlier. 

Fixlein  might  now,  at  any  hour  he  liked,  lay  hold  of 
fifty  florins  Frankish,  and  clutch  the  pedagogic  sceptre, 
and  become  coadjutor  of  the  Rector,  that  is,  Conrector. 
We  may  assert,  that  it  is  with  debts,  as  with  proportions  in 
Architecture ;  of  which  Wolf  has  shown  that  those  are  the 
best  which  can  be  expressed  in  the  smallest  numbers.  Nev- 
ertheless, the  Quartermaster  cheerfully  took  learned  men 
under  his  arm  ;  for  the  notion  that  his  debtor  would  decease 
in  his  thirty-second  year,  and  that  so  Death,  as  creditor  in 
the  first  rank,  must  be  paid  his  Debt  of  Nature,  before  the 
other  creditors  could  come  forward  with  their  debts  —  this 
notion  he  named  stuff  and  old-wifery  ;  he  was  neither 
Superstitious  nor  Fanatical,  and  he  walked  by  firm  princi- 
ples of  action,  such  as  the  common  man  much  oftener  has 
than  your  vaporing  man  of  letters,  or  your  empty,  dainty 
man  of  rank. 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  265 

As  it  is  but  a  few  clear  Ladydays,  warm  Mayday-nights, 
at  the  most  a  few  odorous  Rose-weeks,  which  I  am  digging 
from  this  Fixleinic  Life,  embedded  in  the  dross  of  week- 
day cares  ;  and  as  if  they  were  so  many  veins  of  silver,  am 
separating,  stamping,  smelting,  and  burnishing  for  the 
reader,  —  I  must  now  travel  on  with  the  stream,  his  history 
to  Cantata-Sunday,  1792,  before  I  can  gather  a  few  hand 
fuls  of  this  gold-dust,  to  carry  in  and  wash  in  my  biograph- 
ical gold-hut.  That  Sunday,  on  the  contrary,  is  very 
metalliferous  ;  do  but  consider  that  Fixlein  is  yet  uncertain 
(the  ashes  of  the  Church-books  not  being  legible)  whether 
it  is  conducting  him  into  his  thirty-second  or  his  thirty-third 
year. 

From  Christmas  till  then  he  did  nothing,  but  simply 
became  Conrector.  The  new  chair  of  office  was  a  Sun- 
altar,  on  which,  from  his  Quintus-ashes,  a  young  Phoenix 
combined  itself  together.  Great  changes  —  in  offices,  mar- 
riages, travels  —  make  us  younger;  we  always  date  our 
history  from  the  last  revolution,  as  the  French  have  done 
from  theirs.  A  colonel,  who  first  set  foot  on  the  ladder  of 
seniority  as  corporal,  is  five  times  younger  than  a  king,  who 
in  his  whole  life  has  never  been  aught  else  except  a  — 
crown-prince. 


FIFTH    LETTER-BOX. 
Cantata- Sunday.    Two  Testaments.   Pontac  ;  Blood ;  Love. 

The  Spring  months  clothe  the  earth  in  new  variegated 
hues  ;  but  man  they  usually  dress  in  black.  Just  when  our 
icy  regions  are  becoming  fruitful,  and  the  flower-waves  of 
the  meadows  are  rolling  together  over  our  quarter  of  the 
globe,  we  on  all   hands  meet  with  men  in  sables,  the  begin- 

vol.  ii.  23 


266 


RICHTER. 


ning  of  whose  Spring  is  full  of  tears.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  this  very  upblooming  of  the  renovated  earth  is  itself 
the  best  balm  for  sorrow  over  those  who  lie  under  it;  and 
graves  are  better  hid  by  blossoms  than  by  snow. 

In  April,  which  is  no  less  deadly  than  it  is  fickle,  old 
Senior  Astmann,  our  Conrector's  teacher,  was  overtaken 
by  death.  His  departure  it  was  meant  to  hide  from  the 
Rittmeisterinn  ;  but  the  unusual  ringing  of  funeral  peals 
carried  his  swan-song  to  her  heart ;  and  gradually  set  the 
curfew-bell   of  her   life   into  similar  movement.     A°e  and 

o 

sufferings  had  already  marked  out  the  first  incisions  for 
Death,  so  that  he  required  but  little  effort  to  cut  her 
down  ;  for  it  is  with  men  as  with  trees,  they  are  notched 
long  before  felling,  that  their  life-sap  may  exude.  The 
second  stroke  of  apoplexy  was  soon  followed  by  the  last ; 
it  is  strange  that  Death,  like  criminal  courts,  cites  the 
apoplectic  thrice. 

Men  are  apt  to  postpone  their  last  will  as  long  as  their 
better  one;  the  Rittmeisterinn  would  perhaps  have  let  all 
her  hours,  till  the  speechless  and  deaf  one,  roll  away 
without  testament,  had  not  Thiennette,  during  the  last  night 
before  from  sick-nurse  she  became  corpse-watcher,  re- 
minded the  patient  of  the  poor  Conrector,  and  of  his  meagre, 
hunger-bitten  existence,  and  of  the  scanty  aliment  and 
board-wages  which  Fortune  had  thrown  him,  and  of  his 
empty  Future,  where,  like  a  drooping,  yellow  plant  in  the 
parched  deal-box  of  the  school-room,  between  scholars  and 
creditors,  he  must  languish  to  the  end.  Her  own  poverty 
offered  her  a  model  of  his  ;  and  her  inward  tears  were  the 
fluid  tints  with  which  she  colored  her  picture.  As  the  Ritt- 
meisterinn's  testament  related  solely  to  domestics  and  de- 
pendents, and  as  she  began  with  the  male  one,  Fixlein  stood 
r.t  the  top ;  and  Death,  who  must  have  been  a  special  friend 
of  the  Conrector's,  did  not  lift  his  scythe  and  give  the  last 


LIFE    OF    OJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  267 

stroke,  till  his  protegee  had  been  with  audible  voice  declared 
testamentary  heir  ;  then  he  cut  all  away,  life,  testament,  and 
hopes. 

When  the  Conrector,  in  a  wash-bill  from  his  mother, 
received  these  two  Death's-posts  and  JobVposts  in  his  class, 
the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  dismiss  his  class-boys,  and 
break  into  tears  before  reaching  home.  Though  the  mother 
had  informed  him  that  he  had  been  remembered  in  the  will 
(I  could  wish,  however,  that  the  Notary  had  blabbed  how 
much  it  was),  yet  almost  with  every  O  which  he  masoreti- 
cally  excerpted  from  his  German  Bible,  and  entered  in  his 
Masoretic  Work,  great  drops  fell  down  on  his  pen,  and 
made  his  black  ink  pale.  His  sorrow  was  not  the  gorgeous 
sorrow  of  the  Poet,  who  veils  the  gaping  wounds  of  the  de- 
parted in  the  winding-sheet,  and  breaks  the  cry  of  anguish 
in  soft  tones  of  plaintiveness  ;  nor  the  sorrow  of  the  Phi- 
losopher, who,  through  one  open  grave,  must  look  into 
the  whole  catacomb-Necropolis  of  the  Past,  and  before 
whom  the  spectre  of  a  friend  expands  into  the  spectral 
Shadow  of  this  whole  Earth  ;  but  it  was  the  woe  of  a  child, 
of  a  mother,  whom  this  thought  itself,  without  subsidiary 
reflections,  bitterly  cuts  asunder  :  "So  I  shall  never  more 
see  thee  ;  so  must  thou  moulder  away,  and  I  shall  never 
see  thee,  thou  good  soul,  never,  never  any  more  !" —  And 
even  because  he  neither  felt  the  philosophical  nor  the  poetical 
sadness,  every  trifle  could  make  a  division,  a  break  in  his 
mourning;  and,  like  a  woman,  he  was  that  very  evening 
capable  of  sketching  some  plans  for  the  future  employment 
of  his  legacy. 

Four  weeks  after,  to  wit,  on  the  5th  of  May,  the  testa- 
ment was  unsealed  ;  but  not  till  the  6th  (Cantata-Sunday) 
did  he  go  down  to  Hukelum.  His  mother  met  his  saluta- 
tions with  tears;  which  she  shed,  over  the  corpse  for  grief, 
over  the  testament  for  joy.  —  To  the  now  Conrector  Egidius 


268 


RICHTER. 


Zebedaus  was  left :  In  the  first  place,  a  large  sumptuous 
bed,  with  a  mirror-tester,  in  which  the  giant  Goliath  might 
have  rolled  at  his  ease,  and  to  which  I  and  my  fair  readers 
will  by  and  by  approach  nearer,  to  examine  it;  secondly, 
there  was  devised  to  him,  as  unpaid  Easter-godchild-money, 
for  every  year  that  he  had  lived,  one  ducat ;  thirdly,  all  the 
admittance  and  instalment  dues,  which  his  elevation  to  the 
Quintate  and  Conrectorate  had  cost  him,  were  to  be  made 
good  to  the  utmost  penny.  "  And  dost  thou  know,  then," 
proceeded  the  mother,  "  what  the  poor  Fraulein  has  got  ? 
Ah  Heaven !  Nothing !  Not  one  brass  farthing ! "  For 
Death  had  stiffened  the  hand,  which  was  just  stretching 
itself  out  to  reach  the  poor  Thiennette  a  little  rain-screen 
against  the  foul  weather  of  life.  The  mother  related  this 
perverse  trick  of  Fortune  with  true  condolence  ;  which  in 
women  dissipates  envy,  and  comes  easier  to  them  than  con- 
gratulation, a  feeling  belonging  rather  to  men.  In  many 
female  hearts  sympathy  and  envy  are  such  near  door-neigh- 
bors that  they  could  be  virtuous  nowhere  except  in  Hell, 
where  men  have  such  frightful  times  of  it ;  and  vicious  no- 
where except  in  Heaven,  where  people  have  more  happiness 
than  they  know  what  to  do  with. 

The  Conrector  was  now  enjoying  on  Earth  that  Heaven 
to  which  his  benefactress  had  ascended.  First  of  all,  he 
started  off — without  so  much  as  putting  up  his  handkerchief, 
in  which  lay  his  emotion  —  up  stairs  to  see  the  legacy-bed 
unshrouded  ;  for  he  had  a  female  predilection  for  furniture. 
I  know  not  whether  the  reader  ever  looked  at  or  mounted 
any  of  these  ancient  chivalric  beds,  into  which,  by  means 
of  a  little  stair  without  balustrades,  you  can  easily  ascend  ; 
and  in  which  you,  properly  speaking,  sleep  always  at  least 
one  story  above  ground.  Nazianzen  informs  us  (Orat. 
XVI.)  that  the  Jews,  in  old  times,  had  high  beds  with 
cock-ladders  of  this  sort ;    but  simply  because  of  vermin. 


LIFE    OF    Q.UINTUS    FIXLEIN.  269 

The  legacy  bed-Ark  was  quite  as  large  as  one  of  these ; 
and  a  flea  would  have  measured  it  not  in  Diameters  of  the 
Earth,  but  in  Distances  of  Sirius.  When  Fixlein  beheld 
this  colossal  dormitory,  with  the  curtains  drawn  asunder, 
and  its  canopy  of  looking-glass,  he  could  have  longed  to  be 
in  it ;  and  had  it  been  in  his  power  to  cut  from  the  opaque 
hemisphere  of  Night,  at  that  time  in  America,  a  small 
section,  he  would  have  established  himself  there  along  with 
it,  just  to  swim  about,  for  one  half  hour,  with  his  thin  lath 
figure,  in  this  sea  of  down.  The  mother,  by  longer  chains 
of  reasoning  and  chains  of  calculation  than  the  bed  was, 
had  not  succeeded  in  persuading  him  to  have  the  broad 
mirror  on  the  top  cut  in  pieces,  though  his  large  dressing- 
table  had  nothing  to  see  itself  in  but  a  mere  shaving-glass ; 
he  let  the  mirror  lie  where  it  was  for  this  reason :  "  Should 
I  ever,  God  willing,  get  married,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  then, 
towards  morning,  be  able  to  look  at  my  sleeping  wife,  with- 
out sitting  up  in  bed." 

As  to  the  second  article  of  the  testament,  the  godchild 
Easter-pence,  his  mother  had,  last  night,  arranged  it  per- 
fectly. The  Lawyer  took  her  evidence  on  the  years  of 
the  heir ;  and  these  she  had  stated  at  exactly  the  teeth- 
number,  two-and-thirty.  She  would  willingly  have  lied,  and 
passed  off  her  son,  like  an  Inscription,  for  older  than  he 
was;  but  against  this  venia  <ztatis^  she  saw  too  well,  the 
authorities  would  have  taken  exception,  "  that  it  was  false- 
hood and  cozenage  ;  had  the  son  been  two-and-thirty,  he 
must  have  been  dead  some  time  ago,  as  it  could  not  but 
be  presumed  that  he  then  was." 

And  just  as  she  was  recounting  this,  a  servant  from 
Schadeck  called  ;  and  delivered  to  the  Conrector,  in  return 
for  a  discharge  and  ratification  of  the  birth-certificate  given 
out  by  his  mother,  a  gold  bar  of  two-and-thirty  ducat  age- 
counters,  like  a  helm-bar  for  the  voyage  of  his  life ;  Herr 
23* 


270 


RICHTER. 


von  Aufhammer   was  too  proud  to  engage  in  any  pettifog- 
ging discussion  over  a  plebeian  birth  certificate. 

And   thus,  by  a  proud   open-handedness,  was   one  of  the 
best  lawsuits  thrown  to  the  dogs;  seeing  this  gold  bar  might, 
in  the   wire-mill  of  the  judgment-bench,  have   been  drawn 
out  into  the  finest  threads.     From  such  a  tangled  lock,  which 
was  not  to  be  unravelled  —  for   in  the  first   place,  there  was 
no  document  to  prove  Fixlein's  age;  in  the   second    place, 
so  long  as  he  lived,  the  necessary  conclusion   was,  that  he 
was  not  yet  thirty-two* — from  such  a  lock,  might  not  only 
silk  and  hanging-cords,  but  whole  drag-nets  have  been  spun 
and  twisted.     Clients  in  general   would  have  less  reason  to 
complain  of  their   causes,  if  these  lasted   longer.    Philoso- 
phers  contend   for   thousands  of  years   over   philosophical 
questions ;    and  it  seems  an  unaccountable  thing,  therefore, 
that  Advocates  should  attempt  to  end  their  juristical  questions 
in  a  space  of  eighty,  or  even  sometimes  of  sixty  years.     But 
the   professors  of  Law   are  not  to  blame  for  this  ;   on  the 
other  hand,  as  Lessing  asserts  of  Truth,  that  not  the  finding 
but  the  seeking  of  it  profits  men,  and  that  he  himself  would 
willingly  make  over  his  claim  to  all  truths  in  return  for  the 
sweet  labor  of  investigation,  so  is  the  professor  of  Law  not 
profited  by  the  finding  and  deciding,  but  by  the  investigation 
of  a  juridical  truth — which  is  called  pleading  and  practising 
—  and  he  would  willingly  consent  to  approximate  to  Truth 
forever,  like  an  hyperbola  to  its  asymptote,  without  ever 
meeting  it,  seeing  he  can  subsist  as  an  honorable   man   with 


•As,  by  the  evidence  at  present  before  us,  we  can  found  on  no 
other  presumption,  than  that  he  must  die  in  his  thirty-second  year; 
it  would  follow,  that,  in  case  he  died  two-and-thirty  years  after  the 
death  of  the  testatrix,  no  farthing  could  be  claimed  by  him  -r  since, 
according  to  our  fiction,  at  the  making  of  the  testament  he  was  not 
even  one  year  old. 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  271 

wife  and  child,  let  such   approximation  be  as  tedious  as  it 
likes. 

The  Schadeck  servant  had,  besides  the  gold  legacy,  a 
farther  commission  from  the  Lawyer,  whereby  the  testa- 
mentary heir  was  directed  to  sum  up  the  mint-dues  which 
he  had  been  obliged  to  pay  while  lying  under  the  coining- 
press  of  his  superiors,  as  Quintus  and  Conrector ;  the  which, 
properly  documented  and  authenticated,  were  forthwith  to 
be  made  good  to  him. 

Our  Conrector,  who  now  rated  himself  among  the  great 
capitalists  of  the  world,  held  his  short  gold-roll  like  a  sceptre 
in  his  hand  ;  like  a  basket- net  lifted  from  the  sea  of  the 
Future,  which  was  now  to  run  on,  and  bring  him  all  manner 
of  fed-fishes,  well-washed,  sound,  and  in  good  season. 

I  cannot  relate  all  things  at  once  ;  else  I  should  ere  now 
have  told  the  reader,  who  must  long  have  been  waiting  for 
it,  that  to  the  monied  Conrector  his  two-and-thirty  godchild- 
pennies  but  too  much  prefigured  the  two-and-thirty  years 
of  his  age ;  besides  which,  to-day  the  Cantata-Sunday,  this 
Bartholomew-night  and  Second  of  September  of  his  family, 
came  in  as  a  farther  aggravation.  The  mother,  who  should 
have  kn^wn  the  age  of  her  child,  said  she  had  forgotten  it ; 
but  durst  wager  he  was  thirty-two  a  year  ago ;  only  the 
Lawyer  was  a  man  you  could  not  speak  to.  "  I  could  swear 
it  myself,"  said  the  capitalist ;  "  I  recollect  how  stupid  I  felt 
Cantata-Sunday  last  year."  Fixlein  beheld  Death,  not  as  the 
poet  does,  in  the  uptowering,  asunder-driving  concave- 
mirror  of  Imagination ;  but  as  the  child,  as  the  savage,  as 
the  peasant,  as  the  woman  does,  in  the  plane  octavo-mirror 
on  the  board  of  a  Prayer-book ;  and  Death  looked  to  him 
like  an  old  white-headed  man,  sunk  down  into  slumber  in 
some  latticed  pew. — 

And   yet  he  thought  oftener  of  him  than  last  year ;  for 
joy  readily  melts  us  into  softness ;  and   the   lackered  Wheel 


272  RICHTER. 

of  Fortune  is  a  cistern-wheel  that  empties  its  water  in  our 
eyes  ....  But  the  friendly  Genius  of  this  terrestrial,  or 
rather  aquatic  Ball — for,  in  the  physical  and  in  the  moral 
world,  there  are  more  tear-seas  than  firm  land  —  has  pro- 
vided for  the  poor  water-insects  that  float  about  in  it,  for  us 
namely,  a  quite  special  elixir  against  spasms  in  the  soul  ;  I 
declare  this  same  Genius  must  have  studied  the  whole  pa- 
thology of  man  with  care  ;  for  to  the  poor  devil  who  is  no 
Stoic,  and  can  pay  no  Soul-doctor,  that  for  the  fissures  of 
his  cranium  and  his  breast  might  prepare  costly  prescrip- 
tions of  simples,  he  has  stowed  up  cask-wise  in  all  cellara- 
ges a  precious  wound-water,  which  the  patient  has  only  to 
take  and  pour  over  his  slashes  and  bone-breakages  —  gin- 
twist,  I  mean,  or  beer,  or  a  touch  of  wine  ....  By  Heaven ! 
it  is  either  stupid  ingratitude  towards  this  medicinal  Genius 
on  the  one  hand,  or  theological  confusion  of  permitted  tip- 
pling with  prohibited  drunkenness  on  the  other,  if  men  do 
not  thank  God  that  they  have  something  at  hand,  which,  in 
the  nervous  vertigoes  of  life,  will  instantly  supply  the  place 
of  Philosophy,  Christianity,  Judaism,  Paganism,  and  Time ; 
—  liquor,  as  I  said. 

The  Corrector  had  long  before  sunset  given  the  village 
post  three  groschens  of  post-money,  and  commissioned  — 
for  he  had  a  whole  cabinet  of  ducats  in  his  pocket,  which 
all  day  he  was  surveying  in  the  dark  with  his  hand  —  three 
thalers'  worth  of  Pontac  from  the  town.  u  I  must  have  a 
Cantata  merry-making,"  said  he  ;  u  if  it  be  my  last  day, 
let  it  be  my  gayest  too !  "  I  could  wish  he  had  given  a  larger 
order  ;  but  he  kept  the  bit  rof  moderation  between  his  teeth 
at  all  times  ;  even  in  a  threatened  sham-death-night,  and  in 
the  midst  of  jubilee.  The  question  is^whether  he  would 
not  have  restricted  himself  to  a  single  bottle,  if  he  had  not 
wished  to  treat  his  mother  and  the  Fraulein.  Had  he  lived 
in  the  tenth  century,  when  the  Day  of  Judgment  was  thought 


LIFE    OP     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  273 

to  be  at  hand,  or  in  other  centuries,  when  new  Noah's  Del- 
uges were  expected,  and  when,  accordingly,  like  sailors  in  a 
shipwreck,  people  boused  up  all,  —  he  would  not  have  spent 
one  kreuzer  more  on  that  account.  His  joy  was,  that  with 
his  legacy  he  could  now  satisfy  his  head-creditor  Steinber- 
ger,  and  leave  the  world  an  honest  man.  Just  people,  who 
make  much  of  money,  pay  their  debts  the   most  punctually. 

The  purple  Pontac  arrived  at  a  time  when  Fixlein  could 
compare  the  red-chalk-drawings  and  red-letter-titles  of  joy, 
which  it  would  bring  out  on  the  cheeks  of  its  drinker  and 
drinkeresses,  —  with  the  Evening-carnation  of  the  last 
clouds  about  the  Sun  .... 

I  declare,  among  all  the  spectators  of  this  History,  no  one 
can  be  thinking  more  about  poor  Thiennette  than  I  ;  never- 
theless, it  is  not  permitted  me  to  bring  her  out  from  her 
tiring-room  to  my  historical  scene  before  the  time.  Poor 
girl  !  The  Conrector  cannot  wish  more  warmly  than  his 
Biographer,  that,  in  the  Temple  of  Nature  as  in  that  of 
Jerusalem,  there  were  a  special  door  —  besides  that  of 
Death — standing  open,  through  which  only  the  afflicted 
entered,  that  a  Priest  might  give  them  solace.  But  Thien- 
nette's  heart-sickness  over  all  her  vanished  prospects,  over 
her  entombed  benefactress,  over  a  whole  life  enwrapped  in 
the  pall,  had  hitherto,  in  a  grief  which  the  stony  Rittmeister 
rather  made  to  bleed  than  alleviated,  swept  all  away  from 
her,  occupations  excepted  ;  had  fettered  all  her  steps  which 
led  not  to  some  task,  and  granted  to  her  eyes  nothing  to  dry 
them  or  gladden  them,  save  down-falling  eyelids  full  of 
dreams  and  sleep. 

All  sorrow  raises  us  above  the  civic   Ceremonial-law,  and 

makes  the  Prosaist  a  Psalmist;  in  sorrow  alone  have  women 

courage  to  front  opinion.    Thiennette  walked  out  only  in  the 

evening,  and  then  only  in  the  garden. 

The  Conrector  could  scarcely  wait  for   the  appearance  of 


214  RICHTER. 

his  fair  friend,  to  offer  his  thanks,  —  and  to-night  also  —  his 
Pontac.  Three  Pontac  decanters  and  three  wine-glasses 
were  placed  outside  on  the  projecting  window-sill  of  his 
cottage  ;  and  every  time  he  returned  from  the  dusky  cov- 
ered-way amid  the  flower-forests,  he  drank  a  little  from  his 
glass, — and  the  mother  sipped  now  and  then  from  within 
through  the  opened  window. 

1  have  already  said,  his  Life-laboratory  lay  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  garden  or  park,  over  against  the  Castle- 
Escurial,  which  stretched  back  into  the  village.  In  the 
north-west  corner  bloomed  an  acacia  grove,  like  the  floral 
crown  of  the  garden.  Fixlein  turned  his  steps  in  that  di- 
rection also ;  to  see  if,  perhaps,  he  might  not  cast  a  happy 
glance  through  the  wide-latticed  grove  over  the  intervening 
meads  to  Thiennette.  He  recoiled  a  little  before  two  stone 
steps  leading  down  into  a  pond  before  this  grove,  which 
were  sprinkled  with  fresh  blood.  On  the  flags,  also,  there 
was  blood  hanging.  Man  shudders  at  this  oil  of  our  life's 
lamp  where  he  finds  it  shed  ;  to  him  it  is  the  red  death- 
signature  of  the  Destroying  Angel.  Fixlein  hurried  appre- 
hensively into  the  grove  ;  and  found  here  his  paler  benefac- 
tress leaning  on  the  flower-bushes  ;  her  hands  with  her 
knitting-ware  sunk  into  her  bosom,  her  eyes  lying  under 
their  lids  as  if  in  the  bandage  of  slumber  ;  her  left  arm  in 
the  real  bandage  of  bloodletting  ;  and  with  cheeks  to  which 
the  twilight  was  lending  as  much  red,  as  late  woundings  — 
this  day's  included  — had  taken  from  them.  Fixlein,  after 
his  first  terror  —  not  at  this  flower's  sleep,  but  at  his  own 
abrupt  entrance  —  began  to  unrol  the  spiral  butterfly's- 
sucker  of  his  vision,  and  to  lay  it  on  the  motionless  leaves 
of  this  same  sleeping  flower.  At  bottom,  I  may  assert,  that 
this  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever  looked  at  her  ;  he  was 
now  among  the  thirties ;  and  he  still  continued  to  believe, 
that,  in  a  young  lady,  he   must  look  at  the  clothes  only,  not 


LIFE    OF    OJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  275 

the  person,  and  wait  on  her  with  his  ears,  not  with  his  eyes. 

I  impute  it  to  the  elevating  influences  of  the  Pontac,  that 
the  Conrector  plucked  up  courage  to  —  turn,  to  come  back, 
and  employ  the  resuscitating  means  of  coughing,  sneezing, 
trampling,  and  calling  to  his  Shock,  in  stronger  and  stronger 
doses  on  the  fair  sleeper.  To  take  her  by  the  hand,  and 
with  some  medical  apology,  gently  pull  her  out  of  sleep, 
this  was  an  audacity  of  which  the  Conrector,  so  long  as  he 
could  stand  for  Pontac,  and  had  any  grain  of  judgment  left, 
could  never  dream. 

However,  he  did  awake  her,  by  those  other  means. 

Wearied,  heavy-laden  Thiennette  !  how  slowly  does  thy 
eye  open !  The  warmest  balsam  of  this  earth,  soft  sleep 
has  shifted  aside,  and  the  night-air  of  memory  is  again 
blowing  on  thy  naked  wounds  !  —  and  yet  was  the  smiling 
friend  of  thy  youth  the  fairest  object  which  thy  eye  could 
light  on,  when  it  sank  from  the  hanging  garden  of  Dreams 
into  this  lower  one  round  thee. 

She  herself  was  little  conscious,  —  and  the  Conrector  not 
at  all,  —  that  she  was  bending  her  flower-leaves  impercep- 
tibly towards  a  terrestrial  body,  namely,  towards  Fixlein. 
She  resembled  an  Italian  flower,  that  contains  cunningly 
concealed  within  it  a  newyear's  gift,  which  the  receiver 
knows  not  at  first  how  to  extract.  But  now  the  golden  chain 
of  her  late  kind  deed  attracted  her  as  well  towards  him,  as 
him  towards  her.  —  She  at  once  gave  her  eye  and  her  voice 
a  mask  of  joy  ;  for  she  did  not  put  her  tears,  as  Catholics 
do  those  of  Christ,  in  relic-vials,  upon  altars,  to  be  worship- 
ped. He  could  very  suitably  preface  his  invitation  to  the 
Pontac  festival  with  a  long  acknowledgment  of  thanks  for 
the  kind  intervention  which  had  opened  to  him  the  sources 
for  procuring  it.  She  rose  slowly,  and  walked  with  him  to 
the  banquet  of  wine ;  but  he  was  not  so  discreet,  as  at  first 
to  attempt  leading   her,   or  rather  not   so  courageous  ;  he 


276  RICHTER. 

could  more  easily  have  offered  a  young  lady  his  hand  (that 
is,  with  marriage  ring)  than  offered  her  his  arm.  One  only 
time  in  his  life  had  he  escorted  a  female,  a  Lombard  Count- 
ess from  the  theatre  ;  a  thing  truly  not  to  be  believed,  were 
not  this  the  secret  of  it,  that  he  was  obliged  ;  for  the  lady, 
a  foreigner,  parted  in  the  press  from  all  her  people,  in  a  bad 
night,  had  laid  hold  of  him  as  a  sable  Abbe  by  the  arm, 
and  requested  him  to  take  her  to  her  inn.  He,  however, 
knew  the  fashions  of  society,  and  attended  her  no  farther 
than  the  porch  of  his  Quintus-mansion,  and  there  directed 
her  with  his  finger  to  her  inn,  which,  with  thirty  blazing 
windows,  was  looking  down  from  another  street. 

These  things  he  cannot  help.  But  to-night  he  had  scarcely, 
with  his  fair,  faint  companion,  reached  the  bank  of  the  pond, 
into  which  some  superstitious  dread  of  water-spirits  had 
lately  poured  the  pure  blood  of  her  left  arm,  —  when,  in 
his  terror  lest  she  fell  in,  with  the  rest  of  her  blood,  over 
the  brink,  he  quite  valiantly  laid  hold  of  the  sick  arm.  Thus 
will  much  Pontac  and  a  little  courage  at  all  times  put  a 
Conrector  in  case  to  lay  hold  of  a  Fraulein.  I  aver  that 
at  the  banquet-board  of  the  wine,  at  the  window-sill,  he  con- 
tinued in  the  same  conducting  position.  What  a  soft  group 
in  the  penumbra  of  the  Earth,  while  Night,  with  its  dusky 
waters,  was  falling  deeper  and  deeper,  and  the  silver-light 
of  the  Moon  was  already  glancing  back  from  the  copper 
ball  of  the  steeple  !  I  call  the  group  soft,  because  it  consists 
of  a  maiden  that  in  two  senses  has  been  bleeding  ;  of  a 
mother  again  with  tears  giving  her  thanks  for  the  happiness 
of  her  child  ;  and  of  a  pious,  modest  man,  pouring  wine, 
and  drinking  health  to  both,  and  who  traces  in  his  veins  a 
burning  lava-stream,  which  is  boiling  through  his  heart,  and 
threatening  piece  by  piece  to  melt  it  and  bear  it  away.  —  A 
candle  stood  without  among  the  three  bottles,  like  Reason 
among  the  Passions  ;  on  this  account  the  Conrector  looked 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN. 


277 


without  intermission  at  the  window-panes,  for  on  them  (the 
darkness  of  the  room  served  as  mirror-foil)  was  painted, 
among  other  faces  which  Fixlein  liked,  the  face  he  liked 
best  of  all,  and  which  he  dared  to  look  at  only  in  reflexion, 
the  face  of  Thiennette. 

Every  minute  was  a  Federation-festival,  and  every  second 
a  Preparation-Sabbath  for  it.  The  Moon  was  gleaming  from 
the  evening  dew,  and  the  Pontac  from  their  eyes,  and  the 
bean-stalks  were  casting  a  shorter  grating  of  shadow.  —  The 
quicksilver-drops  of  stars  were  hanging  more  and  more  con- 
tinuous in  the  sable  of  night.  —  The  warm  vapor  of  the 
wine  set  our  two  friends  (like  steam-engines)  again  in  mo- 
tion. 

Nothing  makes  the  heart  fuller  and  bolder  than  walking 
to  and  fro  in  the  night.  Fixlein  now  led  the  Fraulein  in  his 
arm  without  scruple.  By  reason  of  her  lancet-wound,  Thi- 
ennette could  only  put  her  hand,  in  a  clasping  position,  in 
his  arm  ;  and  he,  to  save  her  the  trouble  of  holding  fast, 
held  fast  himself,  and  pressed  her  fingers  as  well  as  might 
be  with  his  arm  to  his  heart.  It  would  betray  a  total  want 
of  polished  manners  to  censure  his.  At  the  same  time,  tri- 
fles are  the  provender  of  Love  ;  the  fingers  are  electric  dis- 
charges of  a  fire  sparkling  along  every  fibre  ;  sighs  are  the 
guiding  tones  of  two  approximating  hearts;  and  the  worst 
and  most  effectual  thing  of  all  in  such  a  case  is  some  mis- 
fortune ;  for  the  fire  of  Love,  like  that  of  Naphtha,  likes  to 
swim  on  water.  Two  teardrops,  one  in  another's,  one  in 
your  own  eyes,  compose,  as  with  two  convex  lenses,  a  mi- 
croscope which  enlarges  everything,  and  changes  all  sor- 
rows into  charms.  Good  sex !  I  too  consider  every  sister 
in  misfortune  as  fair;  and,  perhaps,  thou  wouldst  deserve 
the  name  of  the  Fair,  even  because  thou  art  the  Suffering 
sex ! 

And   if   Professor   Hunczogsky   in  Vienna   modelled   all 

vol.  ii.  24 


278  RICHTER. 

the  wounds  of  the  human  frame  in  wax,  to  teach  his  pupils 
how  to  cure  them,  I  also,  thou  good  sex,  am  representing  in 
little  figures  the  cuts  and  scars  of  thy  spirit,  though  only  to 
keep  away  rude  hands  from  inflicting  new  ones 

Thiennette  felt  not  the  loss  of  the  inheritance,  but  of  her 
that  should  have  left  it ;  and  this  more  deeply  for  one  little 
trait,  which  she  had  already  told  his  mother,  as  she  now 
told  him.  In  the  last  two  nights  of  the  Rittmeisterinn,  when 
the  feverish  watching  was  holding  up  to  Thiennette's  imagi- 
nation nothing  but  the  winding-sheet  and  the  mourning- 
coaches  of  her  protectress  ;  while  she  was  sitting  at  the  foot 
of  the  bed,  looking  on  those  fixed  eyes,  unconsciously  quick 
drops  often  trickled  over  her  cheeks,  while  in  thought  she 
prefigured  the  heavy,  cumbrous  dressing  of  her  benefactress 
for  the  coffin.  Once  after  midnight,  the  dying  lady  pointed 
with  her  finger  to  her  own  lips.  Thiennette  understood  her 
not;  but  rose  and  bent  over  her  face.  The  Enfeebled  tried 
to  lift  her  head,  but  could  not,  —  and  only  rounded  her  lips. 
At  last,  a  thought  glanced  through  Thiennette,  that  the  De- 
parting, whose  dead  arms  could  now  press  no  beloved  heart 
to  her  own,  wished  that  she  herself  should  embrace  her.  O 
then,  that  instant,  keen  and  tearful  she  pressed  her  warm 
lips  on  the  colder,  —  and  she  was  silent  like  her  that  was  to 
speak  no  more,  —  and  she  embraced  alone  and  was  not 
embraced.  About  four  o'clock,  the  finger  waved  again;  — 
she  sank  down  on  the  stiffened  lips  —  but  this  had  been  no 
signal,  for  the  lips  of  her  friend  under  the  long  kiss  had 
«rown  stiff  and  cold 

How  deeply  now,  before  the  infinite  Eternity's-counte- 
nance  of  Night,  did  the  cutting  of  this  thought  pass  through 
Fixlein's  warm  soul :  "  O  thou  forsaken  one  beside  me ! 
No  happy  accident,  no  twilight  hast  thou,  like  that  now 
glimmering  in  the  heavens,  to  point  to  the  prospect  of  a 
sunny  day  ;  without  parents  art  thou,  without  brother,  with- 


LIFE     OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  279 

out  friend  ;  here  alone  on  a  disblossomed,  emptied  corner 
of  the  Earth ;  and  thou,  left  Harvest-flower,  must  wave 
lonely  and  frozen  over  the  withered  stubble  of  the  Past.5' 
That  was  the  meaning  of  his  thoughts,  whose  internal  words 
were  :  "  Poor  young  lady  !  Not  so  much  as  a  half-cousin 
left ;  no  nobleman  will  seek  her,  and  she  grows  old  so 
forgotten,  and  she  is  so  good  from  the  very  heart  —  Me  she 
has  made  happy  —  Ah,  had  I  the  presentation  to  the  parish 
of  Hukelum  in  my  pocket,  I  should  make  a  trial.".  .  .Their 
mutual  lives,  which  a  straitcutting  bond  of  Destiny  was 
binding  so  closely  together,  now  rose  before  him  overhung 
with  sable, —  and  he  forthwith  conducted  his  friend  (for  a 
bashful  man  may  in  an  hour  and  a  half  be  transformed  into 
the  boldest,  and  then  continues  so)  back  to  the  last  flask, 
that  all  these  upsprouting  thistles  and  passion-flowers  of 
sorrow  might  therewith  be  swept  away.  I  remark,  in  pass- 
ing, that  this  was  stupid  ;  the  torn  vine  is  full  of  water-veins 
as  well  as  grapes ;  and  a  soft  oppressed  heart  the  beverage 
of  joy  can  melt  only  into  tears. 

If  any  man  disagree  with  me,  I  shall  desire  him  to  look 
at  the  Conrector,  who  demonstrates  my  experimental  maxim 
like  a  very  syllogism. —  One  might  arrive  at  some  philoso- 
phic views,  if  one  traced  out  the  causes,  why  liquors  —  that 
is  to  say,  in  the  long  run,  more  plentiful  secretion  of  the 
nervous  spirits  —  make  men  at  once  pious,  soft,  and  poet- 
ical. The  Poet,  like  Apollo  his  father,  is  forever  a  youth; 
and  is,  what  other  men  are  only  once,  namely  in  love, — 
or  only  after  Pontac,  namely  intoxicated,  —  all  his  life  long. 
Fixlein,  who  had  been  no  poet  in  the  morning,  now  became 
one  at  night ;  wine  made  him  pious  and  soft;  the  Harmon- 
ica-bells in  man,  which  sound  to  the  tones  of  a  higher  world, 
must,  like  the  glass  Harmonica-bells,  if  they  are  to  act,  be 
kept  moist. 

He  was  now  standing  with  her  again  beside  the  wavering 


280  KICHTER. 

pond,  in  which  the  second  blue  hemisphere  of  heaven,  with 
dancing  stars  and  amid  quivering  trees,  was  playing  ;  over 
the  green  hills  ran  the  white,  crooked  footpaths  dimly  along; 
on  the  one  mountain  was  the  twilight  sinking  together,  on  the 
other  was  the  mist  of  night  rising  up;  and  overall  these 
vapors  of  life,  hung  motionless  and  flaming  the  thousand- 
armed  lustre  of  the  starry  heaven,  and  every  arm  held  in  it 
a  burning  galaxy  .... 

It  now  struck  eleven  .  .  .  Amid  such  scenes,  an  unknown 
hand  stretches  itself  out  in  man,  and  writes  in  foreign  lan- 
guage on  his  heart,  a  dread  Mene  Mene  Tekel  Upharsin. 
"  Perhaps  by  twelve  I  am  dead,"  thought  our  friend,  in 
whose  soul  the  Cantata-Sunday,  with  all  its  black  funeral 
piles,  was  mounting  up. 

The  whole  future  Crucifixion  of  his  friend  lay  prickly 
and  bethorned  before  him  ;  and  he  saw  every  bloody  trace 
from  which  she  lifted  her  foot,  —  she  who  had  made  his 
own  way  soft  with  flowers  and  leaves.  He  could  no  longer 
restrain  himself;  trembling  in  his  whole  frame,  and  with  a 
trembling  voice,  he  solemnly  said  to  her :  "  If  the  Lord  this 
night  call  me  away,  let  the  half  of  my  fortune  be  yours  ;  for 
it  is  your  goodness  I  must  thank  that  I  am  free  of  debts,  as 
few  Teachers  are." 

Thiennette,  unacquainted  with  our  sex,  naturally  mistook 
this  speech  for  a  proposal  of  marriage ;  and  the  fingers  of 
her  wounded  arm,  to-night  for  the  first  time,  pressed  sud- 
denly against  the  arm  in  which  they  lay  ;  the  only  living 
mortal's  arm,  by  which  Joy,  Love,  and  the  Earth,  were  still 
united  with  her  bospm.  The  Conrector,  rapturously  terri- 
fied at  the  first  pressure  of  a  female  hand,  bent  over  his 
right  to  take  hold  of  her  left;  and  Thiennette  observing  his 
unsuccessful  movement,  lifted  her  fingers,  and  laid  her 
whole  wounded  arm   in  his,  and  her  whole   left  hand  in  his 


LIFE    OF    Q,UINTUS    FIXLE1N.  281 

right.  Two  lovers  dwell  in  the  Whispering-gallery,*  where 
the  faintest  breath  bodies  itself  forth  into  a  sound.  The 
good  Conrector  received  and  returned  this  blissful  love- 
pressure,  wherewith  our  poor,  powerless  soul,  stammering, 
hemmed  in,  longing,  distracted,  seeks  for  a  warmer  lan- 
guage, which  exists  not ;  he  was  overpowered  ;  he  had  not 
the  courage  to  look  at  her  ;  but  he  looked  into  the  gleam  of 
the  twilight,  and  said  (and  here  for  unspeakable  love  the 
tears  were  running  warm  over  his  cheeks)  :  "  Ah,  I  will 
give  you  all ;  fortune,  life,  and  all  that  I  have,  my  heart  and 
my  hand." 

She  was  about  to  answer,  but  casting  a  side  glance,  she 
cried,  with  a  shriek  :  "  Ah,  Heaven  !  "  He  started  round  ; 
and  perceived  the  white  muslin  sleeve  all  dyed  with  blood  ; 
for,  in  putting  her  arm  into  his,  she  had  pushed  away  the 
bandage  from  the  open  vein.  With  the  speed  of  lightning, 
he  hurried  her  into  the  acacia  grove  ;  the  blood  was  already 
running  from  the  muslin  ;  he  grew  paler  than  she,  for  every 
drop  of  it  was  coming  from  his  heart.  The  blue-white  arm 
was  bared  ;  the  bandage  was  put  on  ;  he  tore  a  piece  of  gold 
from  his  pocket ;  clapped  it,  as  one  does  with  open  arteries, 
on  the  spouting  fountain,  and  bolted  with  this  golden  bar,  and 
with  the  bandage  over  it,  the  door  out  of  which  her  afflicted 
life  was  hurrying. — 

When  it  was  over,  she  looked  up  to  him  ;  pale,  languid, 
but  her  eyes  were  two  glistening  fountains  of  an  unspeakable 
love,  full  of  sorrow,  and  full  of  gratitude.  —  The  exhausting 
loss  of  blood  was  spreading  her  soul  asunder  in  sighs. 
Thiennette  was  dissolved  into  inexpressible  softness ;  and 
the  heart,  lacerated  by  so  many  years,  by  so  many  arrows, 
was  plunging  with  all  its  wounds  in  warm  streams  of  tears, 


*  In  St.  Paul's  Church   at  London,   where   the  slightest   whisper 
sounds  over,  across  a  space  of  143  feet. 
24* 


282  RICHTER. 

to  be  healed  ;  as  chapped  flutes  close  together  by  lying  in 
water,  and  get  back  their  tones.  —  Before  such  a  magic 
form,  before  such  a  pure,  heavenly  love,  her  sympathizing 
friend  was  melted  between  the  flames  of  joy  and  grief;  and 
sank,  with  stifled  voice,  and  bent  down  by  love  and  rapture, 
on  the  pale,  angelic  face,  the  lips  of  which  he  timidly 
pressed,  but  did  not  kiss,  till  all-powerful  Love  bound  its 
girdles  round  them,  and  drew  the  two  closer  and  closer 
together,  and  their  two  souls,  like  two  tears,  melted  into 
one.  O  now,  when  it  struck  twelve,  the  hour  of  death,  did 
not  the  lover  fancy  that  her  lips  were  drawing  his  soul 
away,  and  all  the  fibres  and  all  the  nerves  of  his  life  closed 
spasmodically  round  the  last  heart  in  this  world,  round 
the  last  rapture  of  existence  ....  Yes,  happy  man,  thou 
didst  express  thy  love  ;  for  in  thy  love  thou  thoughtest  to 
die.  .  .  . 

However,  he  did  not  die.  After  midnight,  there  floated 
a  balmy  morning  air  through  the  shaken  flowers,  and  the 
whole  spring  was  breathing.  The  blissful  lover,  setting 
bounds  even  to  his  sea  of  joy,  reminded  his  delicate  beloved, 
who  was  now  his  bride,  of  the  dangers  from  night-cold  ; 
and  himself  of  the  longer  night-cold  of  Death,  which  was 
now  for  long  years  passed  over. —  Innocent  and  blessed, 
they  rose  from  the  grove  of  their  betrothment,  from  its 
dusk  hroken  by  white  acacia  flowers,  and  straggling  moon- 
beams. And  without,  they  felt  as  if  a  whole  wide  Past  had 
sunk  away  in  a  convulsion  of  the  world  ;  all  was  new,  light, 
and  young  The  sky  stood  full  of  glittering  dewdrops  from 
the  everlasting  Morning ;  and  the  stars  quivered  joyfully 
asunder,  and  sank,  resolved  into  beams,  down  into  the 
hearts  of  men.  —  The  Moon,  with  her  fountain  of  light, 
had  overspread  and  kindled  all  the  garden  ;  and  was  hanging 
above  in  a  starless  Blue,  as  if  she  had  consumed  the  nearest 
stars  ;  and  she  seemed  like  a  smaller  wandering  Spring, 
like  a  Christ's-face  smiling  in  love  of  man.  — 


LIFE    OF    QJIINTUS    FIXLEIN.  283 

Under  this  light  they  looked  at  one  another  for  the  first 
time  after  the  first  words  of  love  ;  and  the  sky  gleamed 
magically  down  on  the  disordered  features  with  which  the 
first  rapture  of  love  was  still  standing  written  on  their 
faces  .... 

Dream,  ye  beloved,  as  ye  wake,  happy  as  in  Paradise, 
innocent  as  in  Paradise  I 


SIXTH    LETTER-BOX. 

Office-impost.     One  of  the  most  important  of  Petitions. 

The  finest  thing  was  his  awakening  in  his  European 
Settlement  in  the  giant  Schadeck  bed!  —  With  the  in- 
flammatory, tickling,  eating  fever  of  love  in  his  breast;  with 
the  triumphant  feeling  that  he  had  now  got  the  introductory 
program  of  love  put  happily  by ;  and  with  the  sweet  resur- 
rection from  his  living,  prophetic  burial ;  and  with  the  joy 
that  now,  among  his  thirties,  he  could,  for  the  first  time, 
cherish  hopes  of  a  longer  life  (and  did  not  longer  mean  at 
least  till  seventy  ?)  than  he  could  ten  years  ago  ;  —  with  ail 
this  stirring  life-balsam,  in  which  the  living  fire-wheel  of  his 
heart  was  rapidly  revolving,  he  lay  here,  and  laughed  at 
his  glancing  portrait  in  the  bed-canopy ;  but  he  could  not 
do  it  long,  he  was  obliged  to  move.  For  a  less  happy  man, 
it  would  have  been  gratifying  to  have  measured  —  as  pil- 
grims measure  with  the  length  of  their  pilgrimage  —  not 
so  much  by  steps  as  by  body-lengths,  like  Earth-diameters, 
the  superficial  content  of  the  bed.  But  Fixlein,  for  his  own 
part,  had  to  launch  from  his  bed  into  warm,  billowy  Life,  he 
had  now  his  dear  good  Earth  again  to  look  after,  and  a 
Conrectorship  thereon,  and  a  bride  to  boot.  Besides  all 
this,   his  mother  down  stairs   now  admitted  that  he  had  last 


284  RJCHTER. 

night  actually  glided  through  beneath  the  scythe  of  Death, 
like  supple  grass,  and  that  yesterday  she  had  not  told  him, 
merely  out  of  fear  of  his  fear.  Still  a  cold  shudder  went 
over  him  —  especially  as  he  was  sober  now  —  when  he 
looked  round  at  the  high  Tarpeian  Rock,  four  hours'  dis- 
tance behind  him,  on  the  battlements  of  which  he  had  last 
night  walked  hand  in  hand  with  death. 

The  only  thing  that  grieved  him  was,  that  it  was  Monday, 
and  that  he  must  back  to  the  Gymnasium.     Such  a  freight- 
age  of  joys  he   had  never  taken   with  him  on  his   road  to 
town.     After  four,  he   issued   from  his  house,   satisfied  with 
coffee  (which  he  drank  in  Hukelum  merely  for  his  mother's 
sake,  who,  for  two  days  after,  would  still  have  portions  of 
this  woman's-wine  to  draw   from  the   lees  of  the  pot-sedi- 
ment), into  the  cooling  dawning  May-morning  (for  joy  needs 
coolness,  sorrow  sun) ;  his  Betrothed  comes  —  not  indeed  to 
meet  him,  but  still  —  into  his   hearing,  by  her  distant  morn- 
ing hymn  ;  he  makes  but  one  momentary  turn  into  the  bliss- 
ful haven  of  the  blooming  acacia-grove,  which  still,  like  the 
covenant  sealed  in   it,  has  no   thorns ;    he  dips  his   warm 
hand   in   the   cold-bath   of  the  dewy  leaves  ;  he  wades  with 
pleasure   through   the  beautifying-water  of  the  dew,  which, 
as  it  imparts  color  to  faces,  eats  it  away  from   boots,  ("  but 
with  thirty  ducats,  a  Conrector  may  make  shift  to  keep  two 
pairs  of  boots  on  the   hook  ").  — And   now  the   Moon,  as  it 
were  the   hanging  seal  of  his   last   night's   happiness,   dips 
down  into  the  West,  like   an  emptied  bucket  of  light,  and  in 
the  East  the  other  overrunning  bucket,  the  Sun,  mounts  up, 
and  the  gushes  of  light  flow  broader  and  broader.  — 

The  city  stood  in  the  celestial  flames  of  Morning.  Here 
his  divining-rod  (his  gold-roll,  which,  excepting  one  six- 
teenth of  an  inch  broken  off  from  it,  he  carried  along  with 
him)  began  to  quiver  over  all  the  spots  where  booty  and 
silver-veins  of  enjoyment   were  concealed  ;    and  our   rod- 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  285 

diviner  easily  discovered  that  the  city  and  the  future  were 
a  true  entire  Potosi  of  delights. 

In  his  Conrectorate  closet  he  fell  upon  his  knees  and 
thanked  God  —  not  so  much  for  his  heritage  and  bride  as 
—  for  his  life  ;  for  he  had  gone  away  on  Sunday  morning 
with  doubts  whether  he  should  ever  come  back  ;  and  it  was 
purely  out  of  love  to  the  reader,  and  fear  lest  he  might 
fret  himself  too  much  with  apprehension,  that  I  cunningly 
imputed  Fixlein's  journey  more  to  his  desire  of  knowing 
what  was  in  the  will,  than  of  making  his  own  will  in  pres- 
ence of  his  mother.  Every  recovery  is  a  bringing  back 
and  palingenesia  of  our  youth  ;  one  loves  the  Earth  and 
those  that  are  on  it  with  a  new  love. —  The  Conrector  could 
have  found  in  his  heart  to  take  all  his  class  by  the  locks, 
and  press  them  to  his  breast ;  but  he  only  did  so  to  his 
adjutant,  the  Quartaner,  who,  in  the  first  Letter-box,  was 
still  sitting  in  the  rank  of  a  Quintaner.  .  .  . 

His  first  expedition,  after  school  hours,  was  to  the  house 
of  Meister  Steinberger*  where-,  without  speaking  a  word;  he 
counted  down  fifty  florins  cash  in  ducats,  on  the  table  :  "At 
last  I  repay  you,"  said  Fixlein,  "  the  moiety  of  my  debt,  and 
give  you  many  thanks." 

"  Ey,  Herr  Conrector,"  said  the  Quartermaster,  and  con- 
tinued calmly  stuffing  puddings  as  before,  "  in  my  bond  it 
is  said,  payable  at  three  months'  mutual  notice.  How  could 
a  man  like  me  go  on,  else?  —  However,  I  will  change  you 
the  gold  pieces."  Thereupon  he  advised  him  that  it  might 
be  more  judicious  to  take  back  a  florin  or  two,  and  buy 
himself  a  better  hat,  and  whole  shoes  :  "  if  you  like,"  added 
he,  "to  get  a  calfskin  and  half  a  dozen  hareskins  dressed, 
they  are  lying  up  stairs." — I  should  think,  for  my  own  part, 
that  to  the  reader  it  must  be  as  little  a  matter  of  indifference 
as  it  was  to  the  Butcher,  whether  the  hero  of  such  a  History 
appeared  before  him   with  an   old   tattered   potlid  of  a  hat, 


286  RICHTER. 

and  a  pump-sucker  and  leg-harness  pair  of  boots,  or  in 
suitable  apparel. —  In  short,  before  St.  John's  day,  the  man 
was  dressed  with  taste  and  pomp. 

But  now  came  two  most  peculiarly  important  papers  — 
at  bottom  only  one,  the  petition  for  the  Hukelum  parsonship 
—  to  be  elaborated ;  in  regard  to  which  I  feel  as  if  I  myself 

must  assist It  were  a  simple  turn,  if  now  at  least  the 

assembled  public  did  not  pay  attention. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Conrector  searched  out  and  sorted 
all  the  Consistorial  and  Councillor  quittances,  or  rather  the 
toll-bills  of  the  road-money,  which  he  had  been  obliged  to 
pay,  before  the  toll-gates  at  the  Quintusship  and  Conrec- 
torship  had  been  thrown  open ;  for  the  executor  of  the 
Schadeck  testament  had  to  reimburse  him  the  whole,  as  his 
discharge  would  express  it,  "  to  penny  and  farthing."  An- 
other would  have  summed  up  his  post-excise  much  more 
readily;  by  merely  looking  what  he  — owed  ;  as  these  debt- 
bills  and  those  toll-bills,  like  parallel  passages,  elucidate 
and  confirm  each  other.  But  in  Fixlein's  case,  there  was 
a  small  circumstance  of  peculiarity  at  work  ;  which  I  can- 
not explain  till  after  what  follows. 

It  grieved  him  a  little  that  for  his  two  offices  he  had  been 
obliged  to  pay  and  to  borrow  no  larger  a  sum  than  135 
florins,  41  kreutzers,  and  one  half-penny.  The  legacy,  it  is 
true,  was  to  pass  directly  from  the  hands  of  the  testamenta- 
ry executor  into  those  of  the  Regiments-Quartermaster  ; 
but  yet  he  could  have  liked  well  had  lie  —  for  man  is  a  fool 
from  the  very  foundation  of  him  —  had  more  to  pay,  and 
therefore  to  inherit.  The  whole  Conrectorate  he  had,  by  a 
slight  deposit  of  90  florins,  plucked,  as  it  were,  from  the 
Wheel  of  Fortune  ;  and  so  small  a  sum  must  surprise  my 
reader ;  but  what  will  he  say,  when  I  tell  him  that  there  are 
countries  where  the  entry-money  into  school-rooms  is  even 
more  moderate  ?  In  Scherau,  a  Conrector  is  charged  only 


LIFE    OF    QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  287 

88  florins,  and  perhaps  he  may  have  an  income  triple  of  this 
sum.  Not  to  speak  of  Saxony  (what,  in  truth,  was  to  be 
expected  from  the  cradle  of  the  Reformation,  in  Religion 
and  Polite  Literature),  where  a  schoolmaster  and  a  parson 
have  nothing  to  pay,  —  even  in  Bayreuth,  for  example,  in 
Hof,  the  progress  of  improvement  has  been  such  that  a 
Quartus  —  a  Quartus,  do  I  say,  —  a  Tertius — a  Tertius, 
do  I  say,  —  a  Conrector,  at  entrance  on  his  post,  is  not  re- 
quired to  pay  down  more  than  : 

Fl.  rhen.  Kr.  rhen. 

30     49  For  taking  the  oaths  at  the  Consistorium. 

4       0  To  the  Syndic  for  the  Presentation. 

2       0  To  the  then  Burgermeister. 
45      7J  For  the  Government-sanction. 


Total  81  fl.56£  kr. 

If  the  printing-charges  of  a  Rector  do  stand  a  little  higher 
in  some  points,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  a  Tertius,  Quartus, 
&c,  come  cheaper  from  the  press  than  even  a  Conrector. 
Now,  it  is  clear,  that  in  this  case  a  schoolmaster  can  sub- 
sist ;  since,  in  the  course  of  the  very  first  year,  he  gets  an 
overplus  beyond  this  dockmoney  of  his  office.  A  school- 
master must,  like  his  scholars,  have  been  advanced  from 
class  to  class,  before  these  his  loans  to  Government,  together 
with  the  interest  for  delay  of  payment,  can  jointly  amount 
to  so  much  as  his  yearly  income  in  the  highest  class.  An- 
other thing  in  his  favor  is,  that  our  institutions  do  not  —  as 
those  of  Athens  did  —  prohibit  people  from  entering  on 
office,  while  in  debt  ;  but  every  man,  with  his  debt-knapsack 
on  his  shoulders,  mounts  up,  step  after  step,  without  obstruc- 
tion. The  Pope,  in  large  benefices,  appropriates  the  income 
of  the  first  year  under  the  title  of  Annates,  or  First  Fruits  ; 


288  '  R1CHTER. 

and  accordingly  he,  in  all  cases,  bestows  any  large  benefice 
on  the  possessor  of  a  smaller  one,  thereby  to  augment  both 
his  own  revenues  and  those  of  others  ;  but  it  shows,  in  my 
opinion,  a  bright  distinction  between  Popery  and  Lutheranism, 
that  the  Consistoriums  of  the  latter  abstract  from  their 
school-ministers  and  church-ministers  not  perhaps  above 
two-thirds  of  their  first  yearly  income  ;  though  they  too, 
like  the  Pope,  must  naturally  have  an  eye  to  vacancies. 

It  may  be  that  I  shall  here  come  in  collision  with  the 
Elector  of  Mentz,  when  I  confess,  that,  in  Schmausen's 
Corp.  jur.  pub.  Germ.,1  have  turned  up  the  Mentz-Imperial- 
Court-Chancery-tax-ordinance  of  the  6th  January,  1659  ;  and 
there  investigated  how  much  this  same  Imperial-Court- 
Chancery  demands,  as  contrasted  with  a  Consistorium.  For 
example,  any  man,  that  wishes  to  be  baked  or  sodden  into  a 
Poet  Laureate,  has  50  florins  Tax-dues,  and  20  florins  Chan- 
cery-dues, to  pay  down  ;  whereas,  for  20  florins  more,  he 
might  have  been  made  a  Conrector,  who  is  a  poet  of  this 
species,  as  it  were  by  the  bye  and  ex  officio. — The  institution 
of  a  Gymnasium  is  permitted  for  1000  florins;  an  extraor- 
dinary sum,  with  which  the  whole  body  of  the  teachers  in 
the  instituted  Gymnasium  might  with  us  clear  off  the  entry- 
monies  of  their  school-rooms.  Again,  a  Freiherr,  who,  at 
any  rate,  often  enough  grows  old  without  knowing  how, 
must  purchase  the  venia  cetatis  with  200  hard  florins ;  while 
with  the  half  sum  he  might  have  become  a  schoolmaster, 
and  here  age  would  have  come  of  its  own  accord. — And  a 
thousand  such  things  !  —  They  prove,  however,  that  matters 
can  be  at  no  bad  pass  in  our  Governments  and  Circles, 
where  promotions  are  sold  dearer  to  Folly  than  to  Diligence, 
and  where  it  costs  more  to  institute  a  school  than  to  serve 
in  one. 

The  remarks  I  made  on  this  subject  to  a  Prince,  as  well 
as   the  remarks  a  Town-syndic  made  on  it  to  myself,  are 


LIFE    OF    qUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  289 

too  remarkable  to  be  omitted  for  mere  dread  of  digressive- 
ness. 

The  Syndic  —  a  man  of  enlarged  views,  and  of  fiery 
patriotism,  the  warmth  of  which  was  the  more  beneficent 
that  he  collected  all  the  beams  of  it  into  one  focus,  and 
directed  them  to  himself  and  his  family  —  gave  me  (I  had 
perhaps  been  comparing  the  School-bench  and  the  School- 
stair  to  the  bench  and  the  ladder,  on  which  people  are  laid 
when  about  to  be  tortured)  the  best  reply:  "If  a  school- 
master consume  nothing  but  30  reichsthalers  ;*  if  he  annu- 
ally purchase  manufactured  goods,  according  as  Political 
Economists  have  calculated  for  each  individual,  namely,  to 
the  amount  of  5  reichsthalers  ;  and  no  more  hundredweights 
of  victual  than  these  assume,  namely  10  ;  in  short,  if  he 
live  like  a  substantial  wood-cutter, —  then  the  Devil  must  be 
in  it,  if  he  cannot  yearly  lay  by  so  much  net  profit,  as  shall, 
in  the  long  run,  pay  the  interest  of  his  entry-debts." 

The  Syndic  must  have  failed  to  convince  me  at  that  time, 
since  I  afterwards  told  the  Flachsonfingen  Prince  :f  "  Illus- 
trious Sir,  you  know  not,  but  I  do  —  not  a  player  in  your 
Theatre  would  act  the  Schoolmaster  in  Engel's  Prodigal 
Son,  three  nights  running,  for  such  a  sum  as  every  real 
Schoolmaster  has  to  take  for  acting  it  all  the  days  of  the 
year. —  In  Prussia,  Invalids  are  made  Schoolmasters;  with 
us,  Schoolmasters  are  made  Invalids.".  .  .  . 

But  to  our  story  !    Fixlein  wrote  out  the  inventory  of  his 

*So  much,  according  to  Political  Economists,  a  man  yearly  re- 
quires in  Germany. 

t  This  singular  tone  of  my  address  to  a  Prince  can  only  be  excused 
by  the  equally  singular  relation  wherein  the  Biographer  stands  to 
the  Flachsenfingen  Sovereign,  and  which  I  would  willingly  unfold 
here,  were  it  not  that,  in  my  Book,  which,  under  the  title  of  Dog- 
post-days,  I  mean  to  give  to  the  world  at  Easter-fair,  1795,  I  hoped 
to  expound  the  matter  to  universal  satisfaction. 

VOL.   II.  25 


290  RICHTER. 

Crown-debts  ;  but  with  quite  a  different  purpose  than  the 
reader  will  guess,  who  has  still  the  Schadeck  testament  in 
his  head.  In  one  word,  he  wanted  to  be  Parson  of  Huke- 
lum.  To  be  a  clergyman,  and  in  the  place  where  his  cradle 
stood,  and  all  the  little  gardens  of  his  childhood,  his  mother 
also,  and  the  grove  of  betrothment,  —  this  was  an  open  gate 
into  a  New  Jerusalem,  supposing  even  that  the  living  had 
been  nothing  but  a  meagre  penitentiary.  The  main  point 
was,  he  might  marry,  if  he  were  appointed.  For,  in  the 
capacity  of  lank  Conrector,  supported  only  by  the  strength- 
ening-girth of  his  waistcoat,  and  with  emoluments  whereby 
scarcely  the  purchase-money  of  a  —  purse  was  to  be  come 
at ;  in  this  way  he  was  more  like  collecting  wick  and  tallow 
for  his  burial  torch  than  for  his  bridal  one. 

For  the  Schoolmaster  class  are,  in  well-ordered  states,  as 
little  permitted  to  marry  as  the  Soldiery.  In  Conringius  de 
Antiquitatibus  Academicis,  where  in  every  leaf  it  is  proved 
that  all  cloisters  were  originally  schools,  I  hit  upon  the  rea- 
son. Our  schools  are  now  cloisters,  and  consequently  we 
endeavor  to  maintain  in  our  teachers  at  least  an  imitation  of 
the  Three  Monastic  Vows.  The  vow  of  Obedience  might 
perhaps  be  sufficiently  enforced  by  School-Inspectors  ;  but 
the  second  vow,  that  of  Celibacy,  would  be  more  hard  of 
attainment,  were  it  not  that,  by  one  of  the  best  political 
arrangements,  the  third  vow,  I  mean  a  beautiful  equality  in 
Poverty,  is  so  admirably  attended  to,  that  no  man  who  has 
made  it  needs  any  farther  testimonium  pauperlalis  ;  —  and 
now  let  this  man,  if  he  likes,  lay  hold  of  a  matrimonial 
half,  when  of  the  two  halves  each  has  a  whole  stomach,  and 
nothing  for  it  but  half-coins  and  half-beer  !  .  .  .  . 

I  know  well,  millions  of  my  readers  would  themselves 
compose  this  Petition  for  the  Conrector,  and  ride  with  it  to 
Schadeck  to  His  Lordship,  that  so  the  poor  rogue  might  get 
the  sheepfold,  with  the  annexed  wedding-mansion  ;  for  they 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  291 

see  clearly  enough,  that  directly  thereafter  one  of  the  best 
Letter-Boxes  would  be  written  that  ever  came  from  such  a 
repository. 

Fixlein's  Petition  was  particularly  good  and  striking;  it 
submitted  to  the  Rittmeister  four  grounds  of  preference  ;  1. 
"  He  was  a  native  of  the  parish  ;  his  parents  and  ancestors 
had  already  done  Hukelum  service  ;  therefore  he  prayed," 
&c. 

2.  "  The  here  documented  official  debts  of  135  florins, 
41  kreutzers,  and  one  halfpenny,  the  cancelling  of  which  a 
never-to-be-forgotten  testament  secured  him,  he  himself 
could  clear,  in  case  he  obtained  the  living,  and  so  hereby 
give  up  his  claim  to  the  legacy,"  &c 

Voluntary  Note  by  me.  It  is  plain  he  means  to  bribe  his 
Godfather,  whom  the  lady's  testament  has  put  into  a  fume. 
But,  gentle  reader,  blame  not  without  mercy  a  poor,  oppress- 
ed, heavy-laden  school-man  and  school-horse  for  an  indeli- 
cate insinuation,  which  truly  was  never  mine.  Consider, 
Fixlein  knew  that  the  Rittmeister  was  a  cormorant  towards 
the  poor,  as  he  was  a  squanderer  towards  the  rich.  It  may 
be,  too,  the  Conrector  might  once  or  twice  have  heard,  in 
the  Law  Courts,  of  patrons  by  whom  not  indeed  the  church 
and  churchyard  —  though  these  things  are  articles  of  com- 
merce in  England  —  so  much  as  the  true  management  of 
them,  had  been  sold,  or  rather  farmed  to  farming-candidates. 
I  know  from  Lange,*  that  the  Church  must  support  its  pa- 
tron, when  he  has  nothing  to  live  upon  ;  and  might  not  a 
nobleman,  before  he  actually  began  begging,  be  justified  in 
taking  a  little  advance,  a  fore-payment  of  his  alimentary 
monies,  from  the  hands  of  his  pulpit-farmer  ?  — 

3.  u  He  had  lately  betrothed  himself  with  Fraulein  von 
Thiennette,  and   given   her  a   piece   of  gold,   as   marriage- 

*  His  Clerical  Law,  p.  551. 


292  RICHTER. 

pledge  ;  and  could  therefore  wed  the  said  Fraulein,  were  he 
once  provided  for,"  &c. 

Voluntary  Note  by  me.  I  hold  this  ground  to  be  the 
strongest  in  the  whole  Petition.  In  the  eyes  of  Herr  von 
Aufhammer,  Thiennette's  genealogical  tree  was  long  since 
stubbed,  disleaved,  worm-eaten,  and  full  of  millepedes;  she 
was  his  (Economa,  his  Castle-Stewardess,  and  Legatess  a 
Latere  for  his  domestics  ;  and  with  her  pretensions  for  an 
alms-coffer,  was  threatening  in  the  end  to  become  a  burden 
to  him.  His  indignant  wish  that  she  had  been  provided  for 
with  Fixlein's  legacy  might  now  he  fulfilled.  In  a  word,  if 
Fixlein  become  Parson,  he  will  have  the  third  ground  to 
thank  for  it ;  not  at  all  the  mad  fourth 

4.  "  He  had  learned  with  sorrow,  that  the  name  of  his 
Shock,  which  he  had  purchased  from  an  Emigrant  at  Leip- 
zig, meant  Egidius  in  German  ;  and  that  the  dog  had  drawn 
upon  him  the  displeasure  of  His  Lordship.  Far  be  it  from 
him  so  to  designate  the  Shock  in  future  ;  but  he  would  take 
it  as  a  special  grace,  if  for  the  do^,  which  he  at  present  call- 
ed without  any  name,  His  Lordship  would  be  pleased  to 
appoint  one  himself." 

My  Voluntary  Note.  The  dog  then,  it  seems,  to  which 
the  nobleman  has  hitherto  been  godfather,  is  to  receive  its 
name  a  second  time  from  him  !  —  But  how  can  the  famish- 
ing gardener's  son,  whose  career  never  mounted  higher  than 
from  the  school-bench  to  the  school-chair,  and  who  never 
spoke  with  polished  ladies,  except  singing,  namely  in  the 
church,  how  can  he  be  expected,  in  fingering  such  a  string, 
to  educe  from  it  any  finer  tone  than  the  pedantic  one  ?  And 
yet  the  source  of  it  lies  deeper  ;  not  the  contracted  situation, 
but  the  contracted  eye,  not  a  favorite  science,  but  a  narrow 
plebeian  soul,  makes  us  pedantic,  a  soul  that  cannot  measure 
and  separate  the  concentric  circles  of  human  knowledge  and 
activity,  that  confounds  the   focus   of  universal   human  life, 


LIFE     OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN. 


293 


by  reason  of  the  focal  distance,  with  every  two  or  three 
converging  rays  ;  and  that  cannot  see  all,  and  tolerate  all 
In  short,  the  true  Pedant  is  the  Intolerant. 

The  Conrector  wrote  out  his  Petition  splendidly  in  five 
propitious  evenings  ;  employed  a  peculiar  ink  for  the  pur- 
pose ;  worked  not  indeed  so  long  over  it  as  the  stupid  Ma- 
nucius  over  a  Latin  letter,  namely,  some  months,  if  Sciop- 
pius's  word  is  to  be  taken  ;  still  less  so  long  as  another 
scholar  at  a  Latin  epistle,  who  — truly  we  have  nothing  but 
MorhoPs  word  for  it  —  hatched  it  during  four  whole  months  ; 
inserting  his  variations,  adjectives,  feet,  with  the  authorities 
for  his  phrases,  accurately  marked  between  the  lines.  Fix- 
lein  possessed  a  more  thorough-going  genius,  and  had  com- 
pletely mastered  the  whole  enterprise  in  sixteen  days. 
While  sealing,  he  thought,  as  we  all  do,  how  this  cover  was 
the  seed-husk  of  a  great  entire  Future,  the  rind  of  many 
sweet  or  bitter  fruits,  the  swathing  of  his  whole  after  life. 

Heaven  bless  his  cover  ;  but  I  let  you  throw  me  from  the 
Tower  of  Babel,  if  he  get  the  parsonage  ;  can't  you  see, 
then,  that  Aufhammer's  hands  are  tied  ?  In  spite  of  all  his 
other  faults,  or  even  because  of  them,  he  will  stand  like  iron 
by  his  word,  which  he  has  given  so  long  ago  to  the  Subrec- 
tor.  It  were  another  matter  had  he  been  resident  at  Court  ; 
for  there,  where  old  German  manners  still  are,  no  promise 
is  kept ;  for  as,  according  to  Moser,  the  Ancient  Germans 
kept  only  such  promises  as  they  made  in  the  forenoon  (in 
the  afternoon  they  were  all  dead-drunk),  —  so  the  Court 
Germans  likewise  keep  no  afternoon  promise ;  forenoon 
ones  they  would  keep  if  they  made  any,  which,  however, 
cannot  possibly  happen,  as  at  those  hours  they  are  —  sleep- 
ing. 


25 


294  RIOHTER. 

SEVENTH  LETTER-BOX. 
Sermon.     School- Exhibition.     Splendid  Mistake. 

The  Conrector  received  his  135  florins,  43  kreutzers,  one 
halfpenny  Frankish  ;  but  no  answer  ;  the  dog  remained 
without  name,  his  master  without  parsonage.  Meanwhile 
the  summer  passed  away ;  and  the  Dragoon  Ritlmeister  had 
yet  drawn  out  no  pike  from  the  Candidate  breeding-pond, 
and  thrown  him  into  the  feeding-pond  of  the  Hukelum 
parsonage.  It  gratified  him  to  be  behung  with  prayers  like 
a  Spanish  guardian  Saint ;  and  he  postponed  (though  deter- 
mined to  prefer  the  Subrector)  granting  any  one  petition, 
till  he  had  seven-and-thirty  dyers',  buttonmakers',  tinsmiths' 
sons,  whose  petitions  he  could  at  the  same  time  refuse. 
Grudge  not  him  of  Aufhammer  this  outlengthening  of  his 
electorial  power!  He  knows  the  privileges  of  rank;  feels 
that  a  nobleman  is  like  Timoleon,  who  gained  his  greatest 
victories  on  his  birth-day,  and  had  nothing  niore  to  do  than 
name  some  squiress,  countess,  or  the  like,  as  his  mother. 
A  man,  however,  who  has  been  exalted  to  the  Peerage, 
while  still  a  foetus,  may  with  more  propriety  be  likened  to 
the  spinner,  which,  contrariwise  to  all  other  insects,  passes 
from  the  chrysalis  state,  and  becomes  a  perfect  insect  in 
its  mothers  womb  — 

But  to  proceed  !  Fixlein  was  at  present  not  without  cash. 
It  will  be  the  same  as  if  I  made  a  present  of  it  to  the  reader, 
when  I  reveal  to  him,  that  of  the  legacy,  which  was  clear- 
ing off  old  scores,  he  had  still  35  florins  left  to  himself,  as 
allodium  and  pocket-money,  wherewith  he  might  purchase 
whatsoever  seemed  good  to  him.  And  how  came  he  by  so 
targe  a  sum,  by  so  considerable  a  competence  ?  Simply  by 
this   means;  every   time    he   changed   a  piece  of  gold,  and 


LIFE     OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  295 

especially  at  every  payment  he  received,  it  had  heen  his 
custom  to  throw  in,  blindly  at  random,  two,  three,  or  four 
small  coins,  among  the  papers  of  his  trunk.  His  purpose 
was  to  astonish  himself  one  day,  when  he  summed  up  and 
took  possession  of  this  sleeping  capital.  And,  by  Heaven! 
he  reached  it  too,  when,  on  mounting  the  throne  of  his  Con- 
rectorate,  he  drew  out  these  funds  from  his  papers,  and 
applied  them  to  the  coronation  charges.  For  the  present, 
he  sowed  them  in  again  among  his  waste  letters.  Foolish 
Fixlein  !  I  mean,  had  he  not  luckily  exposed  his  legacy  to 
jeopardy,  having  offered  it  as  bounty-money  and  luck- 
penny  to  the  patron,  this  false  clutch  of  his  at  the  knocker 
of  the  Hukelum  church  door,  would  certainly  have  vexed 
him  ;  but  now,  if  he  had  missed  the  knocker,  he  had  the 
luckpenny  again,  and  could  be  merry. 

I  now  advance  a  little  way  in  his  History,  and  hit,  in  the 
rock  of  his  Life,  upon  so  fine  a  vein  of  silver,  I  mean  upon 
so  fine  a  day,  that  I  must  (I  believe)  content  myself  even  in 
regard  to  the  twenty-third  of  Trinity-term,  when  he 
preached  a  vacation  sermon  in  his  dear  native  village,  with 
a  brief  transitory  notice. 

In  itself  the  sermon  was  good  and  glorious ;  and  the  day  a 
rich  day  of  pleasure  ;  but  I  should  really  need  to  have  more 
hours  at  my  disposal  than  I  can  steal  from  May,  in  which 
I  am  at  present  living  and  writing  ;  and  more  strength  than 
wandering  through  this  fine  weather  has  left  me  for  land- 
scape pictures  of  the  same,  before  I  could  attempt,  with  any 
well-founded  hope,  to  draw  out  a  mathematical  estimate  of 
the  length  and  thickness,  and  the  vibrations  and  accordant 
relations  to  each  other,  of  the  various  strings,  which  com- 
bined together  to  form  for  his  heart  a  Music  of  the 
Spheres,   on   this   day  of  Trinity-term,  though  such  a  thing 

would  please  myself  as  much  as  another Do  not  ask 

me !     In    my  opinion,    when  a  man   preaches   on    Sunday, 


296 


RICHTER. 


before  all  the  peasants,  who  had  carried  him  in  their  arms 
when  a  gardener's  boy  ;  farther,  before  his  mother,  who  is 
leading  off  her  tears  through  the  conduit  of  her  satin  muff; 
farther,  before  His  Lordship,  whom  he  can  positively  com- 
mand to  be  blessed  ;  and  finally,  before  his  muslin  bride, 
who  is  already  blessed,  and  changing  almost  into  stone,  to 
find  that  the  same  lips  can  both  kiss  and  preach  ;  in  my 
opinion,  I  say,  when  a  man  effects  all  this,  he  has  some 
right  to  require  of  any  Biographer  who  would  paint  his 
situation,  that  he  —  hold  his  jaw;  and  of  the  reader  who 
would  sympathize  with  it,  that  he  open  his,  and  preach  him- 
self.   

But  what  I  must  ex  officio  depict,  is  the  day  to  which  this 
Sunday  was  but  the  prelude,  the  vigil,  and  the  whet  ;  I 
mean  the  prelude,  the  vigil,  and  the  whet  to  the  Martini 
Actus,  or  Martinmas  Exhibition  of  his  school.  On  Sunday 
was  the  sermon,  on  Wednesday  the  Actus,  on  Tuesday  the 
Rehearsal.  This  Tuesday  shall  now  be  delineated  to  the 
universe. 

I  count  upon  it  that  I  shall  not  be  read  by  mere  people  of 
the  world  alone,  to  whom  a  School-Actus  cannot  truly  appear 
much  better,  or  more  interesting,  than  some  Investiture  of  a 
Bishop,  or  the  opera  seria  of  Frankfort  Coronation  ;  but 
that  I  likewise  have  people  before  me,  who  have  been  at 
schools,  and  who  know  how  the  School-drama  of  an  Actus, 
and  the  stage-manager,  and  the  playbill  (the  Program) 
thereof  are  to  be  estimated,  still  without  overrating  their 
importance. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  Rehearsal  of  the  Martini  Actus, 
I  impose  upon  myself,  as  dramaturgist  of  the  play,  the 
duty,  if  not  of  extracting,  at  least  of  recording  the  Conrec- 
tor's  Letter  of  Invitation.  In  this  composition  he  said 
many  things  ;  and  (what  an  author  likes  so  well)  made 
proposals  rather  than  reproaches  ;  interrogatively  reminding 


LIFE    OF     QULNTUS     FIXLE1N.  297 

the  public,  whether,  in  regard  to  the  well- known  head- 
breakages  of  Priscian  on  the  part  of  the  Magnates  in  Pest 
and  Poland,  our  school-houses  were  not  the  best  quarantine 
and  lazar-houses  to  protect  us  against  infectious  bar- 
barisms 7  Moreover,  he  defended  in  schools  what  could  be 
defended  (and  nothing  in  the  world  is  sweeter  or  easier  than 
a  defence)  ;  and  said,  Schoolmasters,  who,  not  quite  justi- 
fiably, like  certain  Courts,  spoke  nothing,  and  let  nothing  be 
spoken  to  them,  but  Latin,  might  plead  the  Romans  in  ex- 
cuse, whose  subjects,  and  whose  kings,  at  least  in  their 
epistles  and  public  transactions,  were  obliged  to  make  use 
of  the  Latin  tongue.  He  wondered  why  only  our  Greek, 
and  not  also  our  Latin  Grammars,  were  composed  in 
Latin,  and  put  the  pregnant  question,  whether  the  Ro- 
mans, when  they  taught  their  little  children  the  Latin 
tongue,  did  it  in  any  other  than  in  this  same.  Thereupon 
he  went  over  to  the  Actus,  and  said  what  follows,  in  his  own 
words  : 

"  I  am  minded  to  prove,  in  a  subsequent  Invitation,  that 
everything  which  can  be  said  or  known  about  the  great 
founder  of  the  Reformation,  the  subject  of  our  present 
Martini  Prolusions,  has  been  long  ago  exhausted,  as  well  by 
Seckendorf  as  others.  In  fact,  with  regard  to  Luther's 
personalities,  his  table-talk,  incomes,  journeys,  clothes,  and 
so  forth,  there  can  now  nothing  new  be  brought  forward,  if 
at  the  same  time  it  is  to  be  true.  Nevertheless,  the  field  of 
the  Reformation  history  is,  to  speak  in  a  figure,  by  no 
means  wholly  cultivated  ;  and  it  does  appear  to  me  as  if  the 
inquirer  even  of  the  present  day  might  in  vain  look  about 
for  correct  intelligence  respecting  the  children,  grandchildren, 
and  children's  children,  down  to  our  own  times,  of  this  great 
Reformer  ;  all  of  whom,  however, appertain,  in  a  more  remote 
degree,  to  the  Reformation  history,  as  he  himself  in  a  nearer. 
Thou  shalt   not  perhaps  be  threshing,  said  I  to  myself,  alto- 


298  RICHTElt. 

gether  empty  straw,  if,  according  to  thy  small  ability,  thou 
bring  forward  and  cultivate  this  neglected  branch  of  History. 
And  so  have  I  ventured,  with  the  last  male  descendant  of  Lu- 
ther, namely,  with  the  Advocate  Martin  Gottlob  Luther,  who 
practised  in  Dresden,  and  deceased  there  in  1759,  to  make 
a  beginning  of  a  more  special  Reformation  history.  My 
feeble  attempt,  in  regard  to  this  Reformationary  Advocate, 
will  be  sufficiently  rewarded,  should  it  excite  to  better  works 
on  the  subject ;  however,  the  little  which  I  have  succeeded 
in  digging  up  and  collecting  with  regard  to  him  I  here 
submissively,  obediently,  and  humbly  request  all  friends 
and  patrons  of  the  Flachsenfingen  Gymnasium  to  listen  to, 
on  the  14th  of  November,  from  the  mouths  of  six  well-con- 
ditioned perorators.     In  the  first  place,  shall 

u  Gottlieb  Spiesglass,  a  Flachsenfinger,  endeavor  to 
show,  in  a  Latin  oration,  that  Martin  Gottlob  Luther  was 
certainly  descended  of  the  Luther  family.  After  him 
strives 

"  Friedrich  Christian  Krabbler,  from  Hukelum,  in  Ger- 
man prose,  to  appreciate  the  influence  which  Martin  Gott- 
lob Luther  exercised  on  the  then  existing  Reformation ; 
whereupon,  after  him,  will 

"  Daniel  Lorenz  Stenzinger  deliver,  in  Latin  verse,  an 
account  of  Martin  Gottlob  Luther's  lawsuits ;  embracing 
the  probable  merits  of  Advocates  generally,  in  regard  to  the 
Reformation.     Which  then  will  give  opportunity  to 

"  Nikol  Tobias  Pjizman  to  come  forward  in  French,  and 
recount  the  most  important  circumstances  of  Martin  Gott- 
lob Luther's  school-years,  university-life,  and  riper  age. 
And  now,  when 

"  Andreas  Eintarm  shall  have  endeavored,  in  German 
verse,  to  apologize  for  the  possible  failings  of  this  represen- 
tative of  the  great  Luther,  will 

"  Justus   Strobel,  in  Latin  verse  according  to  ability,  sing 


LIFE     OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  299 

his  uprightness  and  integrity  in  the  Advocate  profession  ; 
whereafter  I  myself  shall  mount  the  cathedra,  and  most 
humbly  thank  all  the  patrons  of  the  Flachsenfingen  School, 
and  then  farther  bring  forward  those  portions  in  the  life  of 
this  remarkable  man,  of  which  we  yet  know  absolutely 
nothing,  they  being  spared,  Deo  volente,  for  the  speakers  of 
the  next  Martini  Actus." 


The  day  before  the  Actus   offered   as   it  were  the  proof- 
shot  and  sample-sheet  of  the  Wednesday.     Persons  who  on 
account  of  dress  could  not  be  present   at   the   great  school- 
festival,  especially  ladies,  made  their  appearance   on  Tues- 
day, during  the  six  proof-orations.     No  one   can    be  readier 
than  I  to  subordinate   the   proof-Actus   to   the   Wednesday- 
Actus  ;  and  I  do  anything  but  need  being  stimulated  suitably 
to  estimate  the  solemn  feast  of  a  School ;  but,   on   the  other 
hand,  I  am  equally  convinced  that  no  one,  who  did  not  go  to 
the   real   Actus   of  Wednesday,  could   possibly  figure   any- 
thing more  splendid  than  the   proof-day  preceding;   because 
he  could  have  no  object  wherewith  to   compare  the  pomp  in 
which  the  Primate  of  the  festival  drove  in  with  his  triumphal 
chariot  and   six  —  to  call   the  six  brethren-speakers  coach- 
horses —  next  morning  in  presence  of  ladies  and  Councillor 
gentleman.     Smile  away,  Fixlein,  at  this  astonishment  over 
thy  today's  Ovation,  which  is   leading   on   tomorrow's    Tri- 
umph ;  on  thy  dissolving  countenance    quivers   happy   Self, 
feeding  on  these  incense-fumes;  but  a  vanity  like  thine,  and 
that  only,  which  enjoys  without  comparing  or  despising,  can 
one  tolerate,  will  one  foster.     But  what  flowed   over  all  his 
heart,  like  a   melting   sunbeam   over   wax,  was  his  mother, 
who  after  much   persuasion   had    ventured    in   her  Sunday's 
clothes  humbly  to  place  herself  quite  low   down,  beside  the 
door  of  the  Prima  class-room.     It  were   difficult  to  say  who 


300 


RICHTER. 


is  happier,  the  mother,  beholding  how  he  whom  she  has 
borne  under  her  heart  can  direct  such  noble  young  gentle- 
men, and  hearing  how  he  along  with  them  can  talk  of  these 
really  high  things  and  understand  them  too; — or  the  son, 
who,  like  some  of  the  heroes  of  Antiquity,  has  the  felicity 
of  triumphing  in  the  lifetime  of  his  mother.  I  have  never 
in  my  writings  or  doings  cast  a  stone  upon  the  late  Burch- 
ardt  Grossmann,  who,  under  the  initial  letters  of  the  stanzas 
in  his  song  "  Brich  an,  du  liebe  Morgenrothe"  inserted  the 
letters  of  his  own  name  ;  and  still  less  have  I  ever  censured 
any  poor  herbwoman  for  smoothing  out  her  winding-sheet, 
while  still  living,  and  making  herself  one-twelfth  of  a  dozen 
of  grave-shifts.  Nor  do  I  regard  the  man  as  wise  —  though 
indeed  as  very  clever  and  pedantic  —  who  can  fret  his  gall- 
bladder full  because  every  one  of  us  leaf-miners  views  the 
leaf  whereon  he  is  mining  as  a  park-garden,  as  a  fifth 
Quarter  of  the  World  (so  near  and  rich  is  it)  ;  the  leaf-pores 
as  so  many  Valleys  of  Tempe,  the  leaf-skeleton  as  a  Lib- 
erty-tree, a  Bread-tree,  and  Life-tree,  and  the  dewdrops  as 
the  Ocean.  We  poor  day-moths,  evening-moths,  and  night- 
moths,  fall  universally  into  the  same  error,  only  on  different 
leaves;  and  whosoever  (as  I  do)  laughs  at  the  important 
airs  with  which  the  schoolmaster  issues  his  programs,  the 
dramaturgist  his  playbills,  the  classical  variation-alms-gath- 
erer his  alphabetic  letters,  —  does  it,  if  he  is  wise  (as  is  the 
case  here),  with  the  consciousness  of  his  own  similar  folly  ; 
and  laughs,  in  regard  to  his  neighbor,  at  nothing  but  man- 
kind and  himself. 

The  mother  was  not  to  be  detained  ;  she  must  off,  this 
very  night,  to  Hukelum,  to  give  the  Fraulein  Thiennette  at 
least  some  tidings  of  this  glorious  business. — 

And  now  the  World  will  bet  a  hundred  to  one,  that  I  forth- 
with take  biographical  wax,  and  emboss  such  a  wax-figure 
cabinet  of  the  Actus  itself  as  shall  be  single  of  its  kind. 


LIFE    OF    ©JJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  301 

But  on  Wednesday  morning,  while  the  hope-intoxicated 
Conrector  was  just  about  putting  on  his  fine  raiment,  some- 
thing knocked. 

It  was  the  well-known  servant  of  the  Rittmeister,  carry- 
ing the  Hukelum  Presentation  for  the  Subrector  Fuchsle'm  in 
his  pocket.  To  the  last-named  gentleman  he  had  been  sent 
with  this  call  to  the  parsonage  ;  but  he  had  distinguished  ill 
betwixt  Sub  and  Corrector;  and  had  besides  his  own  good 
reasons  for  directing  his  steps  to  the  latter ;  for  he  thought, 
"  Who  can  it  be  that  gets  it,  but  the  parson  that  preached 
last  Sunday,  and  that  comes  from  the  village,  and  is  engaged 
to  our  Fraulein  Thiennette,  and  to  whom  I  brought  a  clock 
and  a  roll  of  ducats  already  ?  "  That  His  Lordship  could 
pass  over  his  own  godson,  never  entered  the  man's  head. 

Fixlein  read  the  address  of  the  Appointment:  "To  the 
Reverend  the  Parson  Fixlein  of  Hukelum."  He  naturally 
enough  made  the  same  mistake  as  the  lackey  ;  and  broke 
up  the  Presentation  as  his  own ;  and  finding  moreover  in  the 
body  of  the  paper  no  special  mention  of  persons,  but  only 
of  a  Schul-unterbefehlshaber  or  School -undergovernor  (in- 
stead of  Subrector),  he  could  not  but  persist  in  his  error. 

Before  I  properly  explain  why  the  Rittmeister's  Lawyer, 
the  framer  of  the  Presentation,  had  so  designated  a  Sub- 
rector —  we  two,  the  reader  and  myself,  will  keep  an  eye 
for  a  moment  on  Fixlein's  joyful  salutations  —  on  his  grate- 
fully-streaming eyes  —  on  his  full  hands  so  laden  with 
bounty  —  on  the  present  of  two  ducats,  which  he  drops  into 
the  hands  of  the  mitre-bearer,  as  willingly  as  he  will  soon 
drop  his  own  pedagogic  office.  Could  he  tell  what  to  think 
(of  the  Rittmeister),  or  to  write  (to  the  same),  or  to  table 
(for  the  lackey)?  Did  he  not  ask  tidings  of  the  noble 
health  of  his  benefactor  over  and  over,  though  the  servant 
answered  him  with  all  distinctness  at  the  very  first?  And 
was  not  this  same  man,  who  belonged  to  the  nose-upturning, 
vol.  ii.  26 


302  R1CHTER. 

shoulder-shrugging,  shoulder-knotted,  toad-eating  species  of 
men,  at  last  so  moved  by  the  joy  which  he  had  imparted, 
that  he  determined,  on  the  spot,  to  bestow  his  presence  on 
the  new  clergyman's  School-Actus,  though  no  person  of 
quality  whatever  was  to  be  there  ?  Fixlein,  in  the  first 
place,  sealed  his  letter  of  thanks  ;  and  courteously  invited 
this  messenger  of  good  news  to  visit  him  frequently  in  the 
Parsonage  ;  and  to  call  this  evening,  in  passing,  at  his  moth- 
er's, and  give  her  a  lecture  for  not  staying  last  night,  when 
she  might  have  seen  the  Presentation  from  His  Lordship 
arrive  to-day. 

The  lackey  being  gone,  Fixlein  for  joy  began  to  grow 
skeptical  —  and  timorous  (wherefore,  to  prevent  filching,  he 
stowed  his  Presentation  securely  in  his  coffer,  under  keeping 
of  two  padlocks);  and  devout  and  softened,  since  he  thanked 
God  without  scruple  for  all  good  that  happened  to  him,  and 
never  wrote  this  Eternal  Name  but  in  pulpit  characters,  and 
with  colored  ink  ;  as  the  Jewish  copyists  never  wrote  it 
except  ornamental  letters  and  when  newly  washed;* — and 
deaf  also  did  the  parson  grow,  so  that  he  scarcely  heard 
the  soft  wooing-hour  of  the  Actus  —  for  a  still  softer  one 
beside  Thiennette,  with  its  rose-bushes  and  rose-honey, 
would  not  leave  his  thoughts.  He  who  of  old,  when  For- 
tune made  a  wry  face  at  him,  was  wont,  like  children  in 
their  sport  at  one  another,  to  laugh  at  her  so  long  till  she 
herself  was  obliged  to  begin  smiling — he  was  now  flying 
as  on  a  huge  seesaw  higher  and  higher,  quicker  and  quicker 
aloft. 

But  before  the  Actus,  let  us  examine  the  Schadeck  Law- 
yer.    Fixlein   instead   of  Fitchslein  t  he   had   written  from 

*Eichhorn's  Einleitung  ins  A.  T.  (Introduction  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment), vol.  II. 

t  Both  have  the  same  sound.  Ftlchslein  means  Foxling,  Fox- 
whelp. —  Ed. 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  303 

uncertainty  about  the  spelling  of  the  name  ;  the  more 
naturally  as  in  transcribing  the  Rittmeisterinn's  will  the 
former  had  occurred  so  often.  Von,  this  triumphal  arch, 
he  durst  not  set  up  before  Fiichslein's  new  name,  because 
Aufhammer  forbade  it,  considering  Hans  Fuchslein  as  a 
mushroom  who  had  no  right  to  vons  and  titles  of  nobility, 
for  all  his  patents.  In  fine,  the  Presentation-writer  was 
possessed  with  Campe's  *  whim  of  Germanizing  everything, 
minding  little  though  when  Germanized  it  should  cease  to 
be  intelligible;  —  as  if  a  word  needed  any  better  act  of 
naturalization  than  that  which  universal  unintelligibility  im- 
parts to  it.  In  itself  it  is  the  same — the  rather  as  all 
languages,  like  all  men,  are  cognate,  intermarried  and 
intermixed  —  whether  a  word  was  invented  by  a  savage  or 
a  foreigner;  whether  it  grew  up  like  moss  amid  the  German 
forests,  or  like  street-grass,  in  the  pavement  of  the  Roman 
Forum.  The  Lawyer,  on  the  other  hand,  contended  that 
it  was  different ;  and  accordingly  he  hid  not  from  any  of 
his  clients  that  Tagefarth  (Day-turn)  meant  Term,  and  that 
Appealing  was  Berufen  (Becalling).  On  this  principle,  he 
dressed  the  word  Subrector  in  the  new  livery  of  School- 
under  governor.  And  this  version  farther  converted  the 
Schoolmaster  into  Parson  ;  to  such  a  degree  does  our  civic 
fortune  —  not  our  personal  well-being,  which  supports  itself 

*  Campe,  a  German  philologist,  who,  along  with  several  others 
of  that  class,  has  really  proposed,  as  represented  in  the  Text,  to 
substitute  for  all  Greek  or  Latin  derivatives  corresponding  German 
terms  of  the  like  import.  Geography,  which  may  be  Erdbeschrei- 
bung  (Earth-description),  was  thenceforth  to  be  nothing  else;  a 
Geometer  became  an  Earthmeasurer ,  &c,  &c.  School-under  governor, 
instead  of  Subrector,  is  by  no  means  the  happiest  example  of  the 
system,  and  seems  due  rather  to  the  Schadeck  Lawyer  than  to 
Campe,  whom  our  Author  has  elsewhere  more  than  once  eulogized 
for  his  project  in  similar  style.  —  Ed. 


304  RICHTER. 

on  our  own  internal  soil  and  resources  —  grow  merely  on 
the  drift-mould  of  accidents,  connexions,  acquaintances,  and 
Heaven  or  the  Devil  knows  what !  — 

By  the  bye,  from  a  Lawyer,  at  the  same  time  a  Country 
Judge,  I  should  certainly  have  looked  for  more  sense  ;  I 
should  (I  may  be  mistaken)  have  presumed  he  knew  that 
the  Acts,  or  Reports,  which  in  former  times  (see  Hoffmann's 
German  or  un- German  Laic -practice)  were  written  in  Latin, 
as  before  the  times  of  Joseph  the  Hungarian,  —  are  now,  if 
we  may  say  so  without  offence,  perhaps  written  fully  more 
in  the  German  dialect  than  in  the  Latin  ;  and  in  support  of 
this  opinion,  I  can  point  to  whole  lines  of  German  language, 
to  be  found  in  these  Imperial-Court-Confessions.  However, 
I  will  not  believe  that  the  Jurist  is  endeavoring,  because 
Imliofer  declares  the  Roman  tongue  to  be  the  mother  tongue 
in  the  other  world,  to  disengage  himself  from  a  language, 
by  means  of  which,  like  the  Roman  Eagle,  or  later,  like 
the  Roman  Fish-heron  (Pope),  he  has  clutched  such  abund- 
ant booty  in  his  talons, 

Toll,  toll  your  bell  for  the  Actus  ;  stream  in,  in  to  the 
ceremony  ;  who  cares  for  it  ?  Neither  I  nor  the  Ex-Con- 
rector.  The  six  pigmy  Ciceros  will  in  vain  set  forth  before 
us  in  sumptuous  dress  their  thoughts  and  bodies.  The 
draught-wind  of  Chance  has  blown  away  from  the  Actus 
its  powder-nimbus  of  glory  ;  and  the  Conrector  that  was 
has  discovered  how  small  a  matter  a  cathedra  is,  and  how 
great  a  one  a  pulpit :  "I  should  not  have  thought,"  thought 
he  now,  "  when  I  became  Conrector,  that  there  could  be 
anything  grander,  I  mean  a  parson."  Man,  behind  his 
everlasting  blind,  which  he  only  colors  differently,  and 
makes  no  thinner,  carries  his  pride  with  him  from  one  step 
to  another ;  and  on  the  higher  step,  blames  only  the  pride 
of  the  lower. 

The  best  of  the  Actus  was,  that  the  Regiments-Quarter- 


LIFE    OF    Q.UINTUS    FIXLEIN.  305 

master,  and  Master  Butcher,  Steinberg,  attended  there, 
embaled  in  a  long  woollen  shag.  During  the  solemnity,  the 
Subrector  Hans  von  Fuchslein  cast  several  gratified  and 
inquiring  glances  on  the  Schadeck  servant,  who  did  not  once 
look  at  him.  Hans  would  have  staked  his  head,  that,  after 
the  Actus,  the  fellow  would  wait  upon  him.  When  at  last 
the  sextuple  cockerel-brood  had  on  their  dunghill  clone 
crowing,  that  is  to  say,  had  perorated,  the  scholastic  cocker, 
over  whom  a  higher  banner  was  now  waving,  himself  came 
upon  the  stage  ;  and  delivered  to  the  School-Inspectorships, to 
the  Subrectorship,  to  the  Guardianship,  and  the  Lackeyship, 
his  most  grateful  thanks  for  their  attendance ;  shortly 
announcing  to  them  at  the  same  time,  "  that  Providence 
had  now  called  him  from  his  post  to  another ;  and  com- 
mitted to  him,  unworthy  as  he  was,  the  cure  of  souls  in  the 
Hukelum  parish,  as  well  as  in  the  Schadeck  chapel  of  ease." 
This  little  address,  to  appearance,  well  nigh  blew  up  the 
then  Subrector  Hans  von  Fuchslein  from  his  chair;  and  his 
face  looked  of  a  mingled  color,  like  red  bole,  green  chalk, 
tinsel-yellow,  and  vomissement  de  la  reine. 

The  tall  Quartermaster  erected  himself  considerably  in 
his  shag,  and   hummed  loud  enough  in  happy  forgetfulness : 

"  The  Dickens  !  —  Parson  ?  " 

The  Subrector  dashed  by  like  a  comet  before  the  lackey ; 
ordered  him  to  call  and  take  a  letter  for  his  master;  strode 
home,  and  prepared  for  his  patron,  who  at  Schadeck  was 
waiting  for  a  long  thanksgiving  psalm,  a  short  satirical 
epistle,  as  nervous  as  haste  would  permit,  and  mingled  a 
few  nicknames  and  verbal  injuries  along  with  it. 

The  courier  handed  in,  to  his  master,  Fixlein's  song  of 
gratitude,  and  Fiichslein's  invectives,  with  the  same  hand. 
The  dragoon  Rittmeister,  incensed  at  the  ill-mannered 
churl,  and  bound  to  his  word,  which  Fixlein  had  publicly 
announced  in  his  Actus,  forthwith  wrote  back  to  the  new : 
26* 


306  Rfctiffcfe. 

Parson  an  acceptance  and  ratification  ;  and  Fixlein  is  and 
remains,  to  the  joy  of  us  all,  incontestible  ordained  parson 
of  Hukelum. 

His  disappointed  rival  has  still  this  consolation,  that  he 
holds  a  seat  in  the  wasp-nest  of  the  Neve  Allgemeine 
Deutsche  Bibliothek*  Should  the  Parson  ever  chrysalize 
himself  into  an  author,  the  watch-wasp  may  then  buzz  out, 
and  dart  its  sting  into  the  chrysalis,  and  put  its  own  brood 
in  the  room  of  the  murdered  butterfly.  As  the  Subrector 
everywhere  went  about,  and  threatened  in  plain  terms  that 
he  would  review  his  colleague,  let  not  the  public  be  sur- 
prised that  Fixlein's  Errata,  and  his  Masoretic  Exercita- 
liones,  are  to  this  hour  withheld  from  it. 

In  spring,  the  widowed  church  receives  her  new  hus- 
band ;  and  how  it  will  be,  when  Fixlein,  under  a  canopy  of 
flower-trees,  takes  the  Sponsa  Christi  in  one  hand,  and  his 
own  Sponsa  in  the  other — this,  without  an  Eighth  Letter- 
Box,  which,  in  the  present  case,  may  be  a  true  jewel-box 
and  rainbow-key ,t  can  no  mortal  figure,  except  the  Sponsus 
himself. 

EIGHTH    LETTER-BOX. 

Instalment  in  the  Parsonage. 

CXn  the  15th  of  April,  1793,  the  reader  may  observe,  far 
down  in  the  hollow,  three  baggage-wagons  groaning  along. 
These   baggage-wagons   are  transporting  the    house-gear  of 


*  New  Universal  German  Library,  a  reviewing  periodical ;  in 
those  days  conducted  by  Nicolai,  a  sworn  enemy  to  what  has  since 
been  called  the  New  School.     (See  §  Tieck  in  vol.  I.)  —  Ed. 

t  Superstition  declares,  that,  on  the  spot  where  the  rainbow  rises, 
a  gotden  key  is  left. 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  307 

the  new  Parson  to  Hukelum  ;  the  proprietor  himself,  with  a 
little  escort  of  his  parishioners,  is  marching  at  their  side, 
that  of  his  china  sets  and  household  furniture  there  may  be 
nothing  broken  in  the  eighteenth  century,  as  the  whole 
came  down  to  him  unbroken  from  the  seventeenth.  Fixlein 
hears  the  School-bell  ringing  behind  him  ;  but  this  chime 
now  sings  to  him,  like  a  curfew,  the  songs  of  future  rest  ;  he 
is  now  escaped  from  the  Death-valley  of  the  Gymnasium, 
and  admitted  into  the  abodes  of  the  Blessed.  Here  dwells 
no  envy,  no  colleague,  no  Subrector;  here,  in  the  heavenly 
country,  no  man  works  in  ihe  New  Universal  German 
Library ;  here,  in  the  heavenly  Hukelumic  Jerusalem,  they 
do  nothing  but  sing  praises  in  the  church  ;  and  here  the 
Perfected  requires  no  more  increase  of  knowledge  .  .  .  Here, 
too,  one  needs  not  sorrow  that  Sunday  and  Saint's  day  so 
often  fall  together  into  one. 

Truth  to  tell,  the  Parson  goes  too  far  ;  but  it  was  his 
way  from  of  old  never  to  paint  out  the  whole  and  half 
shadows  of  a  situation,  till  he  was  got  into  a  new  one  ;  the 
beauties  of  which  he  could  then  enhance  by  contrast  with 
the  former.  For  it  requires  little  reflection  to  discover  that 
the  torments  of  a  schoolmaster  are  nothing  so  extraordi- 
nary ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  as  in  the  Gymnasium,  he 
mounts  from  one  degree  to  another,  not  very  dissimilar  to 
the  common  torments  of  Hell,  which,  in  spite  of  their 
eternity,  grow  weaker  from  century  to  century.  Moreover, 
since,  according  to  the  saying  of  a  Frenchman,  deux  afflic- 
tions mises  ensemble  peuvent  devenir  une  consolation,  a  man 
gets  afflictions  enow  in  a  school  to  console  him  ;  seeing  out 
of  eight  combined  afflictions — reckon  only  one  for  every 
teacher  —  certainly  more  comfort  is  to  be  extracts  J  than 
out  of  two.  The  only  pity  is,  that  school-people  will  never 
act  towards  each  other  as  court-people  do;  none  but 
polished  men  and  polished   glasses  will   readily  cohere.     In 


308  RICHTER. 

addition  to  all  this,  in  schools  —  and  in  offices  generally  — 
one  is  always  recompensed  ;  for,  as  in  the  second  life  a 
greater  virtue  is  the  recompense  of  an  earthly  one,  so,  in 
the  Schoolmaster's  case,  his  merits  are  always  rewarded  by 
more  opportunities  for  new  merits  ;  and  often  enough  he  is 
not  dismissed  from  his  post  at  all.  — 

Eight  Gymnasiasts  are  trotting  about  in  the  Parsonage, 
setting  up,  nailing  to,  hauling  in.  I  think,  as  a  scholar  of 
Plutarch,  I  am  right  to  introduce  such  seeming  minutice. 
A  man,  whom  grown-up  people  love,  children  love  still  more. 
The  whole  school  had  smiled  on  the  smiling  Fixlein,  and 
liked  him  in  their  hearts,  because  he  did  not  thunder,  but 
sport  with  them  ;  because  he  said  Sie  (They),  to  the 
Secundaners,  and  the  Subrector  said  Ihr  (Ye) ;  because  his 
uprearing  forefinger  was  his  only  sceptre  and  baculus  ; 
because  in  the  Secunda  he  had  interchanged  Latin  epistles 
with  his  scholars  ;  and  in  the  Quinta  had  taught  not  with 
Napier's  Rods  (or  rods  of  a  sharper  description),  but  with 
sticks  of  barley-sugar. 

To-day  his  churchyard  appeared  to  him  so  solemn  and 
festive,  that  he  wondered  (though  it  was  Monday)  why  his 
parishioners  were  not  in  their  holiday,  hut  merely  in  their 
weekday  drapery.  Under  ihe  door  of  the  Parsonage  stood 
a  weeping  woman  ;  for  she  was  too  happy,  and  he  was  her 
—  son.  Yet  the  mother,  in  the  height  of  her  emotion,  con- 
trives quite  readily  to  call  upon  the  carriers,  while  disload- 
ing,  not  to  twist  off  the  four  corner  globes  from  the  old 
Frankish  chest  of  drawers.  Her  son  now  appeared  to  her 
as  venerable  as  if  he  had  sat  for  one  of  the  copperplates  in 
her  pictured  Bible  ;  and  that  simply  because  he  had  cast 
off  his  pedagogue  hair-cue,  as  the  ripening  tadpole  does  its 
tail ;  and  was  now  standing  in  a  clerical  periwig  before 
her;  he  was  now  a  Comet,  soaring  away  from  the  profane 
Earth,  and  had  accordingly  changed  from  a  stella  caudata 
into  a  stella  crinita. 


LIFE    OF     GJJ1NTUS    FIXLEIN.  309 

His  bride  also  had,  on  former  days,  given  sedulous  assis- 
tance in  this  new  improved  edition  of  his  house,  and  labored 
faithfully  among  the  other  furnishers  and  furbishers.  But 
to-day  she  kept  aloof;  for  she  was  too  good  to  forget  the 
maiden  in  the  bride.  Love,  like  men,  dies  oftener  of  excess 
than  of  hunger;  it  lives  on  love,  but  it  resembles  those 
Alpine  flowers  which  feed  themselves  by  suction  from  the 
wet  clouds,  and  die  if  you  besprinkle  them. — 

At  length  the  Parson  is  settled,  and  of  course  he  must  — 
for  I  know  my  fair  readers,  who  are  bent  on  it  as  if  they 
were  bridemaids — without  delay  get  married.  But  he  may 
not ;  before  Ascension-day  there  can  nothing  be  done,  and 
till  then  are  full  four  weeks  and  a  half.  The  matter  was 
this.  He  wished  in  the  first  place  to  have  the  murder-Sun- 
day, the  Cantata,  behind  him ;  not  indeed  because  he 
doubted  of  his  earthly  continuance,  but  because  he  would 
not  (even  for  the  bride's  sake)  that  the  slightest  apprehen- 
sion should  mingle  with  these  weeks  of  glory. 

The  main  reason  was,  he  did  not  wish  to  marry  till  lie 
were  betrothed  ;  which  latter  ceremony  was  appointed,  with 
the  Introduction  Sermon,  to  take  place  next  Sunday.  It  is 
the  Cantata-Sunday.  Let  not  the  reader  afflict  himself  with 
fears.  Indeed,  I  should  not  have  molested  an  enlightened 
century  with  this  Sunday-  Wauwau  at  all,  were  it  not  that 
I  delineate  with  such  extreme  fidelity.  Fixlein  himself  — 
especially  as  the  Quartermaster  asked  him  if  he  was  a  baby 
—  at  last  grew  so  sensible  that  he  saw  the  folly  of  it  ;  nay, 
he  went  so  far  that  he  committed  a  greater  folly.  For  as 
dreaming  that  you  die  signifies,  according  to  the  exegetic 
rule  of  false,  nothing  else  than  long  life  and  welfare,  so  did 
Fixlein  easily  infer  that  his  death-imagination  was  just  such 
a  lucky  dream ;  the  rather  as  it  was  precisely  on  this 
Cantata-Sunday  that  Fortune  had  turned  up  her  cornucopia 
over   him,  and   at  once  showered  down  out  of  it  a  bride,  a 


310 


R1CHTEU. 


presentation,  and  a  roll  of  ducats.  Thus  can  Superstition 
imp  its  wings,  let  Chance  favor  it  or  not. 

A  Secretary  of  State,  a  Peace-treaty  writer,  a  Notary, 
any  such  incarcerated  Slave  of  the  Desk,  feels  excellently 
well  how  far  he  is  beneath  a  Parson  composing  his 
inaugural  sermon.  The  latter  (do  but  look  at  my  Fixlein) 
lays  himself  heartily  over  the  paper — injects  the  venous 
system  of  his  sermon-preparation  with  colored  ink  —  has  a 
Text-Concordance  on  the  right  side,  and  a  Song-Concor- 
dance on  the  left  ;  is  there  digging  out  a  marrowy  sentence, 
here  clipping  off  a  song-blossom,  with  both  to  garnish  his 
homiletic  pastry  ;  —  sketches  out  the  finest  plan  of  opera- 
tions, not,  like  a  man  of  the  world,  to  subdue  the  heart  of 
one  woman,  but  the  hearts  of  all  women  that  hear  him,  and 
of  their  husbands  to  boot ;  —  draws  every  peasant  passing 
by  his  window  into  some  niche  of  his  discourse,  to  cooper- 
ate with  the  result  ;  —  and,  finally,  scoops  out  the  butter  of 
the  smooth,  soft  hymn-book,  and  therewith  exquisitely  fattens 
the  black  broth  of  his  sermon,  which  is  to  feed  five  thousand 
men.  —  — 

At  last,  in  the  evening,  as  the  red  sun  is  dazzling  him  at 
the  desk,  he  can  rise  with  heart  free  from  guilt ;  and,  amid 
twittering  sparrows  and  finches,  over  the  cherry-trees  en- 
circling the  parsonage,  look  toward  the  west,  till  there  is 
nothing  more  in  the  sky  but  a  faint  gleam  among  the  clouds. 
And  then  when  Fixlein,  amid  the  tolling  of  the  evening 
prayer-bell,  sloivly  descends  the  stair  to  his  cooking  mother, 
there  must  be  some  miracle  in  the  case,  if  for  him  whatever 
has  been  done  or  baked,  or  served  up  in  the  lower  regions, 
is  not  right  and  good  ....  A  bound,  after  supper,  into  the 
Castle  ;  a  look  into  a  pure  loving  eye  ;  a  word  without 
falseness  to  a  bride  without  falseness ;  and  then  under  the 
coverlid,  a  soft-breathing  breast,  in  which  there  is  nothing 
but  Paradise,  a  sermon,  and  evening  prayer  ....     I  swear, 


LIFE     OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  311 

with  this   I   will   satisfy  a    Mythic   God,   who   has   left  his 
Heaven,  and  is  seeking  a  new  one  among  us  here  below  ! 

Can  a  mortal,  can  a  Me  in  the  wet  clay  of  Earth,  which 
Death  will  soon  dry  into  dust,  ask  more  in  one  week, 
than  Fixlein  is  gathering  into  his  heart  ?  I  see  not  how. 
At  least  I  should  suppose,  if  such  a  dust-framed  being,  after 
such  a  twenty-thousand  prize  from  the  Lottery  of  Chance, 
could  require  aught  more,  it  would  at  most  be  the  twenty- 
one-thousand  prize,  namely,  the  inaugural  discourse  itself. 

And  this  prize  our  Zebedaus  actually  drew  on  Sunday ; 
he  preached  —  he  preached  with  unction, he  did  it  be- 
fore the  crowding,  rustling  press  of  people;  before  his 
Guardian,  and  before  the  Lord  of  Aufhammer,  the  godfather 
of  the  priest  and  the  dog  ;  —  a  flock,  with  whom  in  childhood 
he  had  driven  out  the  Castle  herds  about  the  pasture,  he  was 
now,  himself  a  spiritual  sheep-smearer,  leading  out  to  pas- 
ture ;  —  he  was  standing  to  the  ankles  among  Candidates 
and  Schoolmasters,  for  to-day  (what  none  of  them  could)  at 
the  altar,  with  the  nail  of  his  finger,  he  might  scratch  a  large 
cross  in  the  air,  baptisms  and  marriages  not  once  mention- 
ed       1  believe,  I  should  feel  less  scrupulous  than  I  do 

to  chequer  this  sunshiny  esplanade  with  that  thin  shadow  of 
the  grave,  which  the  preacher  threw  over  it,  when,  in  the 
application,  with  wet,  heavy  eyes,  he  looked  round  over  the 
mute,  attentive  church,  as  if  in  some  corner  of  it  he  would 
seek  the  mouldering  teacher  of  his  youth  and  of  this  con- 
gregation, who  without,  under  the  white  tombstone,  the 
wrong-side  of  life,  had  laid  away  the  garment  of  his  pious 
spirit.  And  when  he,  himself  hurried  on  by  the  internal 
stream,  inexpressibly  softened  by  the  farther  recollections  of 
his  own  fear  of  death  on  this  day,  of  his  life  now  overspread 
with  flowers  and  benefits,  of  his  entombed  benefactress  rest- 
ing here  in  her  narrow  bed  —  when  he  now  —  before  the 
dissolving   countenance    of    her   friend,   his   Thiennette, — 


312  RICHTER. 

overpowered,  motionless,  and  weeping,  looked  down  from 
the  pulpit  to  the  door  of  the  Schadeck  vault,  and  said  : 
"  Thanks,  thou  pious  soul,  for  the  good  thou  hast  done  to 
this  flock  and  to  their  new  teacher  ;  and,  in  the  fulness  of 
time,  may  the  dust  of  thy  god-fearing  and  man-loving  breast 
gather  itself,  transfigured  as  gold-dust,  round  thy  reawaken- 
ed heavenly  heart,"  —  was  there  an  eye  in  the  audience 
dry?  Her  husband  sobbed  aloud,  and  Thiennette,  her  be- 
loved, bowed  her  head,  sinking  down  with  inconsolable 
remembrances,  over  the  front  of  the  seat.,  like  kindred 
mourners  in  a  funeral  train. 

No  fairer  forenoon  could  prepare   the   way  for  an  after- 
noon in  which  a  man  was  to  betroth   himself  forever,  and  to 
unite  the  exchanged  rings  with   the  Ring  of  Eternity.     Ex- 
cept the  bridal  pair,  there  was  none   present   but  an  ancient 
pair;  the  mother  and  the  long   Guardian      The  bridegroom 
wrote   out  the  marriage-contract  or   marriage-charter   with 
his  own  hand  ;  hereby  making  over  to   his   bride,  from   this 
day,  his  whole  movable  property  (not,  as  you  may  suppose, 
his  pocket-library,   but  his   whole   library  ;  whereas,  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  the  daughter  of  a  noble    was  glad  to  get  one 
or  two  books  for  marriage-portion)  ;  —  in   return   for  which, 
she  liberally  enough  contributed  — a  whole  nuptial  coach  or 
car,   laden   as  follows  :    with  nine   pounds  of  feathers,  not 
feathers  for  the  cap  such  as  we  carry,  but  of  the  lighter  sort 
such  as  carry  us  ;  —  with  a  sumptuous  dozen   of  godchild- 
plates  and  godchild-spoons  (gifts   from   Schadeck),  together 
with  a  fish-knife  ;  — of  silk,  not  only  stockings  (though  even 
King  Henry  II.  of  France  could   dress   no  more  than   his 
legs  in   silk),  but   whole   gowns;  —  with  jewels  and   other 
furnishings   of   smaller  value.      Good  Thiennette  !    in   the 
chariot  of  thy  spirit  lies  the  true  dowry  ;  namely,  thy  noble, 
soft,  modest  heart,  the  morning-gift  of  Nature  ! 

The  Parson,  —  who,  not  from  mistrust  but  from  "  the  un- 


LIFE    OF    QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  313 

certainty  of  life,"  could  have  wished  for  a  notary's  seal  on 
everything ;  to  whom  no  security  but  a  hypothecary  one 
appeared  sufficient ;  and  who,  in  the  depositing  of  every 
barleycorn,  required  quittances  and  contracts,  —  had  now, 
when  the  marriage-charter  was  completed,  a  lighter  heart ; 
and  through  the  whole  evening  the  good  man  ceased  not  to 
thank  his  bride  for  what  she  had  given  him.  To  me,  how- 
ever, a  marriage-contract  were  a  thing  as  painful  and  repul- 
sive,—  I  confess  it  candidly,  though  you  should  in  conse- 
quence upbraid  me  with  my  great  youth, — as  if  I  had  to 
take  my  love-letter  to  a  Notary  Imperial,  and  make  him 
docket  and  countersign  it  before  it  could  be  sent.  Heavens  ! 
to  see  the  light  flower  of  Love,  whose  perfume  acts  not  on 
the  balance,  so  laid  like  tulip-bulbs  on  the  hay-beam  of 
Law ;  two  hearts  on  the  cold  councillor  and  flesh  beam  of 
relatives  and  Advocates,  who  are  heaping  on  the  scales 
nothing  but  houses,  fields,  and  tin  —  this,  to  the  interested 
party,  may  be  as  delightful  as,  to  the  intoxicated  suckling 
and  nursling  of  the  Muses  and  Philosophy,  it  is  to  carry  the 
evening  and  morning  sacrifices  he  has  offered  up  to  his 
goddess  into  the  book-shop,  and  there  to  change  his  devotions 

into  money,  and  sell  them  by  weight  and  measure. 

From  Cantata-Sunday  to  Ascension,  that  is,  to  marriage 
day,  are  one  and  a  half  weeks  —  or  one  and  a  half  bliss- 
ful eternities.  If  it  is  pleasant  that  nights  or  winter  separate 
the  days  and  seasons  of  joy  to  a  comfortable  distance  ;  if, 
for  example,  it  is  pleasant  that  birth-day,  Saint's-day,  be- 
trothment,  marriage,  and  baptismal  day,  do  not  all  occur  on 
the  same  day  (for  with  very  few  do  those  festivities,  like 
Holiday  arid  Apostle's  day,  commerge),  —  then  is  it  still 
more  pleasant  to  make  the  interval,  the  flower-border, 
between  betrothment  and  marriage,  of  an  extraordinary 
breadth.  Before  the  marriage-day  are  the  true  honey-weeks  ; 
then  come  the  wax-weeks  ;  then  the  honey-vinegar-weeks. 
vol.  ii.  27 


314  RICHTER. 

In  the  Ninth  Letter-Box  our  Parson  celebrates  his  wed- 
ding ;  and  here,  in  the  Eighth,  I  shall  just  briefly  skim  over 
his  way  and  manner  of  existence  till  then  ;  an  existence,  as 
might  have  been  expected,  celestial  enough.  To  few  is  it 
allotted,  as  it  was  to  him,  to  have  at  once  such  wings  and 
such  flowers  (to  fly  over)  before  his  nuptials  ;  to  few  is  it 
allotted,  I  imagine,  to  purchase  flour  and  poultry  on  the 
same  day,  as  Fixlein  did  ;  —  to  stuff  the  wedding-turkey 
with  hangman-meals;  —  to  go  every  night  into  the  stall, and 
see  whether  the  wedding-pig,  which  his  Guardian  had  given 
him  by  way  of  marriage-present,  is  still  standing  and  eat- 
ing ;  —  to  spy  out  for  his  future  wife  the  flax-magazines  and 
clothes-press-niches  in  the  house  ;  —  to  lay  in  new  wood- 
stores  in  the  prospect  of  winter  ;  —  to  obtain  from  the  Con- 
sistorium  directly,  and  for  little  smart-money,  their  Bull  of 
Dispensation,  their  remission  of  the  three-fold  proclamation 
of  banns  ;  —  to  live  not  in  a  city,  where  you  must  send  to 
every  fool  (because  you  are  one  yourself),  and  disclose  to 
him  that  you  are  going  to  be  married  ;  but  in  a  little  angular 
hamlet,  where  you  have  no  one  to  tell  aught,  but  simply  the 
Schoolmaster  that  he  is  to  ring  a  little  later,  and  put  a  knee- 
cushion  before  the  altar. 

0  !  if  the  Ritter  Michaelis  maintains  that  Paradise  was 
little,  because  otherwise  the  people  would  not  have  found 
each  other, —  a  hamlet  and  its  joys  are  little  and  narrow, 
so  that  some  shadow  of  Eden  may  still  linger  on  our 
Ball. 

1  have  not  even  hinted,  that,  the  day  before  the  wedding, 
the  Regiments-Quartermaster  came  uncalled,  and  killed  the 
pig,  and  made  puddings  gratis,  such  as  were  never  eaten  at 
any  Court. 

And  besides,  dear  Fixlein,  on  this  soft,  rich  oil  of  joy  there 
was  also  floating  gratis  a  vernal  sun,  —  and  red  twilights, — 
and  flower-garlands, — and  a  bursting  half  world  of 
buds  !  .  .  .  . 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  3 15 

How  didst  thou  behave  thee  in  these  hot  whirlpools  of 
pleasure?  —  Thou  movedst  thy  Fishtail  (Reason),  and 
therewith  describedst  for  thyself  a  rectilineal  course  through 
the  billows.  For  even  half  as  much  would  have  hurried 
another  Parson  from  his  study  ;  but  the  very  crowning  felic- 
ity of  ours  was,  that  he  stood  as  if  rooted  to  the  boundary- 
hill  of  Moderation,  and  from  thence  looked  down  on  what 
thousands  flout  away.  Sitting  opposite  the  Castle-windows, 
he  was  still  in  a  condition  to  reckon  up  that  Amen  occurs  in 
the  Bible  one  hundred  and  thirty  times.  Nay,  to  his  old 
learned  laboratory  he  now  appended  a  new  chemical  stove; 
he  purposed  writing  to  Niirnberg  and  Bayreuth,  and  there 
offering  his  pen  to  the  Brothers  Senft,  not  only  for  compos- 
ing practical  Receipts  at  the  end  of  their  Almanacs,  but 
also  for  separate  Essays  in  front  under  the  copperplate  title 
of  each  Month,  because  he  had  a  thought  of  making  some 
reformatory  cuts  at  the  common  people's  mental  habi- 
tudes .  .  .  And  now,  when  in  the  capacity  of  Parson  he  had 
less  to  do,  and  could  add  to  the  holy  resting-day  of  the  con- 
gregation six  literary  creating-days,  he  determined  (even 
in  these  Carnival  weeks)  to  strike  his  plough  into  the  hither- 
to quite  fallow  History  of  Hukelum,  and  soon  to  follow  the 
plough  with  his  drill 

Thus  roll  his  minutes,  on  golden  wheels-of-fortune,  over 
the  twelve  days,  which  form  the  glancing  star-paved  road  to 
the  third  heaven  of  the  thirteenth,  that  is,  to  the 


NINTH  LETTER-BOX, 

Or  to  the  Marriage. 

Rise,    fair    Ascension   and    Marriage  day,  and  gladden 
readers  also  !     Adorn   thyself  with   the   fairest  jewel,   with 


316  RICHTER. 

the  bride,  whose  soul  is  as  pure  and  glittering  as  its  vesture  ; 
like  pearl  and  pearl-muscle,  the  one,  as  the  other,  lustrous 
and  ornamental  !  And  so  over  the  espalier,  whose  fruit- 
hedge  has  hitherto  divided  our  darling  from  his  Eden,  every 
reader  now  presses  after  him  !  — 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1793,  about  three  in  the  morning, 
there  came  a  sharp  peal  of  trumpets,  like  a  light-beam, 
through  the  dim-red  May-dawn  ;  two  twisted  horns,  with  a 
straight  trumpet  between  them,  like  a  note  of  admiration 
between  interrogation-points,  were  clanging  from  a  house  in 
which  only  a  parishioner  (not  the  Parson)  dwelt  and  blew  ; 
for  this  parishioner  had  last  night  been  celebrating  the  same 
ceremony  which  the  pastor  had  this  day  before  him.  The 
joyful  tallyho  raised  our  Parson  from  his  broad  bed  (and  the 
Shock  from  beneath  it,  who  some  weeks  ago  had  been  exiled 
from  the  white,  sleek  coverlid),  and  this  so  early,  that  in  the 
portraying  tester,  where  on  every  former  morning  he  had 
observed  his  ruddy  visage,  and  his  white  bedclothes,  all  was 
at  present  dim  and  crayoned. 

I  confess,  the  new-painted  room,  and  a  gleam  of  dawn 
on  the  wall,  made  it  so  light,  that  he  could  see  his  knee- 
buckles  glancing  on  the  chair.  He  then  softly  awakened 
his  mother  (the  other  guests  were  to  lie  for  hours  in  the 
sheets),  and  she  had  the  city  cook-maid  to  awaken,  who, 
like  several  other  articles  of  wedding-furniture,  had  been 
borrowed  for  a  day  or  two  from  Flachsenfingen.  At  two 
doors  he  knocked  in  vain,  and  without  answer  ;  for  all  were 
already  down  at  the  hearth,  cooking,  blowing,  and  arrang- 
ing. 

How  softly  does  the  Spring  day  gradually  fold  back  its 
nun-veil,  and  the  Earth  grow  bright,  as  if  it  were  the  morn- 
ing of  a  Resurrection  !  — The  quicksilver-pillar  of  the  ba- 
rometer, the  guiding  Fire-pillar  of  the  weather-prophet,  rests 
firmly  on  Fixlein's  Ark  of  the   Covenant.     The  Sun   raises 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN. 


317 


himself,  pure  and  cool,  into  the  morning-blue,  instead  of  into 
the  morning-red.  Swallows,  instead  of  clouds,  shoot  skim- 
ming through  the  melodious  air  .  .  .  O,  the  good  Genius  of 
Fair  Weather,  who  deserves  many  temples  and  festivals 
(because  without  him  no  festival  could  be  held),  lifted  an 
setherial,  azure  Day,  as  it  were,  from  the  well-clear  at- 
mosphere of  the  Moon,  and  sent  it  down,  on  blue  butterfly- 
wings —  as  if  it  were  a  blue  Monday — glittering  below  the 
Sun,  in  the  zigzag  of  joyful,  quivering  descent,  upon  the 
narrow  spot  of  Earth,  which  our  heated  fancies  are  now 
viewing  ....  And  on  this  balmy,  vernal  spot,  stand  amid 
flowers,  over  which  the  trees  are   shaking   blossoms   instead 

of  leaves,  a  bride  and   a  bridegroom Happy  Fixlein ! 

how  shall  I  paint  thee  without  deepening  the  sighs  of  long- 
ing in  the  fairest  souls  ?  — 

But  soft !   we  will  not  drink  the  magic  cup  of  Fancy  to  the 
bottom  at  six  in  the  morning  ;  but  keep  sober  till  towards  night! 

At  the  sound  of  the  morning  prayer-bell,  the  bridegroom, 
for  the  din  of  preparation  was  disturbing  his  quiet  orison, 
went  out  into  the  churchyard,  which  (as  in  many  other 
places),  together  with  the  church,  lay  round  his  mansion 
like  a  court.  Here  on  the  moist  green,  over  whose  closed 
flowers  the  churchyard  wall  was  still  spreading  broad 
shadows,  did  his  spirit  cool  itself  from  the  warm  dreams  of 
Earth  ;  here,  where  the  white  flat  grave-stone  of  his  Teacher 
lay  before  him  like  the  fallen-in  door  on  the  Janus'-temple 
of  Life,  or  like  the  windward  side  of  the  narrow  house, 
turned  towards  the  tempests  of  the  world  ;  here,  where  the 
little  shrunk  metallic  door  on  the  grated  cross  of  his  father 
uttered  to  him  the  inscriptions  of  death,  and  the  year  when 
his  parent  departed,  and  all  the  admonitions  and  mementos, 
graven  on  the  lead  ;  —  there,  I  say,  his  mood  grew  softer 
and  more  solemn  ;  and  he  now  lifted  up  by  heart  his  morn- 
ing prayer,  which  usually  he  read  ;  and  entreated  God  to 
27* 


318  RICHTER. 

bless  him  in  his  office,  and  tospare  his  mother's  life,  and  to 
look  with  favor  and  acceptance  on  the  purpose  of  to-day.  — 
Then  over  the  graves  he  walked  into  his  fenceless  little 
angular  flower-garden  ;  and  here,  composed  and  confident 
in  the  divine  keeping,  he  pressed  the  stalks  of  his  tulips 
deeper  into  the  mellow  earth. 

But  on  returning  to  the  house,  he  was  met  on  all  hands 
by  the  bell-ringing  and  the  Janizary-music  of  wedding- 
gladness  ;  —  the  marriage  guests  had  all  thrown  off  their 
nightcaps,  and  were  drinking  diligently;  —  there  was  a 
clattering,  a  cooking,  a  frizzling  ;  —  tea-services,  coffee- 
services,  and  warm  beer-services,  were  advancing  in  suc- 
cession ;  and  plates  full  of  bride-cakes  were  going  round 
like  potter's  frames  or  cistern-wheels.  —  The  Schoolmaster, 
with  three  young  lads,  was  heard  rehearsing  from  his  own 
house  an  Arioso,  with  which,  so  soon  as  they  were  per- 
fect, he  purposed  to  surprise  his  clerical  superior. — But 
now  rushed  all  the  arms  of  the  foaming  joy-streams  into 
one,  when  the  sky-queen  besprinkled  with  blossoms,  the 
bride,  descended  upon  Earth  in  her  timid  joy,  full  of  quiver- 
ing, humble  love;  —  when  the  bells  began;  —  when  the 
procession-column  set  forthwith  the  whole  village  round  and 
before  it  ; —  when  the  organ,  the  congregation,  the  officiat- 
ing priest,  and  the  sparrows  on  the  trees  of  the  church- 
window,  struck  louder  and  louder  their  rolling  peals  on  the 
drum  of  the  jubilee-festival  .  .  .  The  heart  of  the  singing 
bridegroom  was  like  to  leap  from  its  place  for  joy,  "  that 
on  his  bridal-day  it  was  all  so  respectable  and  grand. " 
—  Not  till  the  marriage  benediction  could  he  pray  a  little. 

Still  worse  and  louder  grew  the  business  during  dinner, 
when  pastry-work  and  marchpane-devices  were  brought 
forward,  —  when  glasses,  and  slain  fishes  (laid  under  the 
napkins  to  frighten  the  guests)  went  round;  —  and  when 
the   guests   rose,  and   themselves  went  round,  and  at  length 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  319 

danced   round  ;  for  they   had  instrumental   music  from  the 
city  there. 

One  minute  handed  over  to  the  other  the  sugar-bowl  and 
bottle-case  of  joy  ;  the  guests  heard  and  saw  less  and  less, 
and  the  villagers  began  to  see  and  hear  more  and  more, 
and  towards  night  they  penetrated  like  a  wedge  into  the 
open  door, —  nay,  two  youths  ventured  even,  in  the  middle 
of  the  parsonage-court,  to  mount  a  plank  over  a  beam,  and 
commence  seesawing.  —  Out  of  doors,  the  gleaming  vapor 
of  the  departed  Sun  was  encircling  the  Earth,  the  evening- 
star  was  glittering  over  parsonage  and  churchyard  ;  no  one 
heeded  it. 

However,  about  nine  o'clock,  —  when  the  marriage- 
guests  had  well  nigh  forgotten  the  marriage-pair,  and  were 
drinking  or  dancing  along  for  their  own  behoof;  when 
poor  mortals,  in  this  sunshine  of  Fate,  like  fishes  in  the 
sunshine  of  the  sky,  were  leaping  up  from  their  wet,  cold 
element ;  and  when  the  bridegroom,  under  the  star  of  happi- 
ness and  love,  casting  like  a  comet  its  long  train  of  radiance 
over  all  his  heaven,  had  in  secret  pressed  to  his  joy-filled 
breast  his  bride  and  his  mother,  —  then  did  he  lock  a  slice 
of  wedding-bread  privily  into  a  press,  in  the  old  supersti- 
tious belief,  that  this  residue  secured  cont'iMiance  of  bread 
for  the  whole  marriage.  As  he  returned,  with  greater  love 
for  the  sole  partner  of  his  life,  she  herself  met  him  with  his 
mother,  to  deliver  him  in  private  the  bridal-nightgown  and 
bridal-shirt,  as  is  the  ancient  usage.  Many  a  countenance 
grows  pale  in  violent  emotions,  even  of  joy  ;  Thiennette's 
wax-face  was  bleaching  still  whiter  under  the  sunbeams  of 
Happiness.  O  never  fall,  thou  lily  of  Heaven,  and  inay 
four  springs  instead  of  four  seasons  open  and  shut  thy 
flower-bells  to  the  sun  !  —  All  the  arms  of  his  soul  as  he 
floated  on  the  sea  of  joy  were  quivering  to  clasp  the  soft 
warm  heart  of  his  beloved,  to  encircle  it  gently  and  fast, 
and  draw  it  to  his  own  .... 


320  RICHTER. 

He  led  her  from  the  crowded  dancing-room  into  the  cool 
evening.  Why  does  the  evening,  does  the  night,  put  warmer 
love  in  our  hearts?  Is  it  the  nightly  pressure  of  helpless- 
ness ;  or  is  it  the  exalting  separation  from  the  turmoil  of 
life  ;  that  veiling  of  the  world,  in  which  for  the  soul  nothing 
more  remains  but  souls  ;  —  is  it  therefore,  that  the  letters  in 
which  the  loved  name  stands  written  on  our  spirit  appear, 
like  phosphorus-writing,  by  night  in  Jire,  while  by  day  in 
their  cloudy  traces  they  but  smoke  ? 

He  walked  with  his  bride  into  the  Castle-garden  ;  she 
hastened  quickly  through  the  castle,  and  past  its  servants'- 
hall,  where  the  fair  flowers  of  her  young  life  had  been 
crushed  broad  and  dry,  under  a  long,  dreary  pressure  ;  and 
her  soul  expanded,  and  breathed  in  the  free  open  garden, 
on  whose  flowery  soil  destiny  had  cast  forth  the  first  seeds 
of  the  blossoms  which  to-day  were  gladdening  her  existence. 
Still  Eden!  Green,  flower-chequered  chiaroscuro  !  —  The 
moon  is  sleeping  under  ground  like  a  dead  one;  but  beyond 
the  garden  the  sun's  red  evening-clouds  have  failen  down 
like  rose-leaves  ;  and  the  evening-star,  the  brideman  of 
the  sun,  hovers,  like  a  glancing  butterfly,  above  the  rosy  red, 
and,  modest  as  a  bride,  deprives  no  single  starlet  of  its  light. 

The  wandering  pair  arrived  at  the  old  gardener's  hut  ; 
now  standing  locked  and  dumb,  with  dark  windows  in  the 
light  garden,  like  a  fragment  of  the  Past  surviving  in  the 
Present.  Bared  twigs  of  trees  were  folding,  with  clammy, 
half-formed  leaves,  over  the  thick,  intertwisted  tangles  of  the 
bushes.  —  The  Spring  was  standing,  like  a  conqueror,  with 
Winter  at  his  feet.  —  In  the  blue  pond,  now  bloodless,  a 
dusky  evening-sky  lay  hollowed  out,  and  the  gushing  waters 
were  moistening  the  flower-beds.  —  The  silver  sparks  of 
stars  were  rising  on  the  altar  of  the  East,  and  falling  down 
extinguished  in  the  red  sea  of  the  West. 

The  wind   whirred,  like  a   night-bird,   louder  through  the 


LIFE    OF     Q.UINTUS    FIXLE1N.  321 

trees  ;  and  gave  tones  to  the  acacia-grove,  and  the  tones 
called  to  the  pair  who  had  first  become  happy  within  it  : 
"  Enter,  new  mortal  pair,  and  think  of  what  is  past,  and  of 
my  withering  and  your  own  ;  and  be  holy  as  Eternity,  and 
weep  not  only  for  joy,  but  for  gratitude  also  !  "  —  And  the 
wet-eyed  bridegroom  led  his  wet-eyed  bride  under  the 
blossoms,  and  laid  his  soul,  like  a  flower,  on  her  heart,  and 
said  :  "  Best  Thiennette,  I  am  unspeakably  happy,  and 
would  say  much,  and  cannot  —  Ah,  thou  Dearest,  we  will 
live  like  angels,  like  children  together!  Surely  I  will  do 
all  that  is  good  to  thee  ;  two  years  ago  I  had  nothing,  no, 
nothing  ;  ah,  it  is  through  thee,  best  love,  that  I  am  happy. 
I  call  thee  Thou,  now,  thou  dear,  good  soul !  "  She  drew 
him  closer  to  her,  and  said,  though  without  kissing  him  : 
"  Call  me  Thou  always,  Dearest !  " 

And  as  they  stept  forth  again  from  the  sacred  grove  into 
the  magic-dusky  garden,  hfi  took  off  his  hat  ;  first,  that  he 
might  internally  thank  God,  and  secondly,  because  he 
wished  to  look  into  this  fairest  evening  sky. 

They  reached  the  blazing,  rustling  marriage-house,  but 
their  softened  hearts  sought  stillness  ;  and  a  foreign  touch, 
as  in  the  blossoming  vine,  would  have  disturbed  the  flower- 
nuptials  of  their  souls.  They  turned  rather,  and  winded  up 
into  the  churchyard  to  preserve  their  mood.  Majestic  on 
the  groves  and  mountains  stood  the  Night  before  man's 
heart,  and  made  it  also  great.  Over  the  white  steeple- 
obelisk  the  sky  rested  bluer  and  darker ;  and  behind  it 
wavered  the  withered  summit  of  the  May-pole  with  faded 
flag.  The  son  noticed  his  father's  grave,  on  which  the  wind 
was  opening  and  shutting,  with  harsh  noise,  the  little  door 
of  the  metal  cross,  to  let  the  year  of  his  death  be  read  on 
the  brass  plate  within.  An  overpowering  sadness  seized 
his  heart  with  violent  streams  of  tears,  and  drove  him  to  the 
sunk   hillock,  and  he  led  his  bride   to  the   grave,  and  said  : 


322  KICHTER. 

"  Here  sleeps  he,  my  good  father;  in  his  thirty-second  year 
he  was  carried  hither  to  his  long  rest.  O  Thou  good,  dear 
father,  couldst  thou  to-day  but  see  the  happiness  of  thy  son, 
like  my  mother!  But  thy  eyes  are  empty,  and  thy  breast 
is  full  of  ashes,  and  thou  seest  us  not." — He  was  silent. 
The  bride  wept  aloud  ;  she  saw  the  mouldering  coffins  of 
her  parents  open,  and  the  two  dead  arise  and  look  round  for 
their  daughter,  who  had  stayed  so  long  behind  them,  for- 
saken on  the  Earth.  She  fell  upon  his  heart,  and  faltered  : 
"O  beloved,  I  have  neither  father  nor  mother,  do  not  for- 
sake me  ! " 

O  thou  who  hast  still  a  father  and  a  mother,  thank  God 
for  it,  on  the  day  when  thy  soul  is  full  of  joyful  tears,  and 
needs  a  bosom  wherein  to  shed  them.  .  .  . 

And  with  this  embracing  at  a  father's  grave,  let  this  day 
of  joy  be  holily  concluded. — 


TENTH    LETTER-BOX. 

St.  Thomas' s-day  and  Birth-day. 

An  Author  is  a  sort  of  bee-keeper  for  his  reader-swarm  ; 
in  whose  behalf  he  separates  the  Flora  kept  for  their  use 
into  different  seasons,  and  here  accelerates,  and  there  re- 
tards, the  blossoming  of  many  a  flower,  that  so  in  all  chap- 
ters there  be  blooming. 

The  goddess  of  Love  and  the  angel  of  Peace  conducted 
our  married  pair  on  tracks  running  over  full  meadows, 
through  the  Spring;  and  on  footpaths  hidden  by  high  corn- 
fields, through  the  Summer  ;  and  Autumn,  as  they  advanced 
towards  Winter,  spread  her  marble  leaves  under  their  feet. 
And  thus  they  arrived  before  the  low,  dark  gate  of  Winter, 
full  of  life,  full  of  love,  trustful,  contented,  sound,  and  ruddy. 


LIFE    OF    Q.UINTUS    FlXLEIN.  323 

On  St.  Thomas's  day  was  Thiennette's  birthday  as  well  as 
Winter's.     About  a  quarter  past  nine,  just  when  the  singing 
ceases   in   the   church,  we   shall   take  a   peep   through   the 
window  into  the  interior  of  the  parsonage.     There  is  noth- 
ing here  but  the  old  mother,  who  has  all  day  (the  son  having 
restricted  her  to  rest,  and  not  work)  been  gliding  about,  and 
brushing,  and   burnishing,  and  scouring,  and  wiping;  every 
carved    chair-leg,   and   every   brass    nail   of  the    waxcloth- 
covered  table,  she  has  polished  into  brightness;  —  everything 
hangs,  as  with  all  married  people  who  have  no  children,  in 
its    right    place,    brushes,    fly-flaps,    and    almanacs  ;  —  the 
chairs    are    stationed   by   the   room-police   in  their   ancient 
corners;  —  a  flax-rock,  encircled   with  a  diadem,  or  scarf  of 
azure  riband,  is  lying   in  the  Schadeckbed,  because,  though 
it  is  a  half  holiday,  some  spinning  may  go  on  ;  —  the  narrow 
slips  of  paper,  whereon  heads  of  sermons  are  to  be  arranged, 
lie  white  beside  the  sermons  themselves,  that  is,  beside  the 
octavo   paper-book  which   holds  them,  for  the   Parson   and 
his  work-table,  by  reason  of  the   cold,  have    migrated  from 
the  study  to  the  sitting-room  ;  —  his   large  furred   doublet  is 
hanging   beside   his   clean   bridegroom-nightgown ;    there  is 
nothing  wanting  in  the  room  but  He  and  She.     For  he  had 
preached  her  with  him  to-night  into  the  empty  Apostle's-day 
church,  that  so  her  mother,  without   witnesses  —  except  the 
two  or  three  thousand    readers  who  are    peeping  with   me 
through  the  window  —  might  arrange  the  provender-baking, 
and  whole  commissariat  department  of  the  birthday-festival, 
and  spread  out  her  best  table-gear  and  victual-stores  without 
obstruction. 

The  soul-curer  reckoned  it  no  sin  to  admonish,  and  ex- 
hort, and  encourage,  and  threaten  his  parishioners,  till  he 
felt  pretty  certain  that  the  soup  must  be  smoking  on  the 
plates.  Then  he  led  his  birthday  helpmate  home,  and 
suddenly  placed  her  before  the  altar  of  meat-offering,  before 


324  R1CHTER. 

a  sweet  title-page  of  bread-tart,  on  which  her  name  stood 
baked,  in  true  monastic  characters,  in  tooth-letters  of  al- 
monds. In  the  background  of  time  and  of  the  room,  I  yet 
conceal  two  —  bottles  of  Pontac.  How  quickly,  under  the 
sunshine  of  joy,  do  thy  cheeks  grow  ripe,  Thiennette,  when 
thy  husband  solemnly  says :  "  This  is  thy  birthday  ;  and 
may  the  Lord  bless  thee,  and  watch  over  thee,  and  cause  his 
countenance  to  shine  on  thee,  and  send  thee,  to  the  joy  of 
our  mother  and  thy  husband  especially,  a  happy,  glad 
recovery.  Amen!" — And  when  Thiennette  perceived  that 
it  was  the  old  mistress  who  had  cooked  and  served  up  all  this 
herself,  she  fell  upon  her  neck,  as  if  it  had  been  not  her 
husband's  mother,  but  her  own. 

Emotion  conquers  the  appetite.  But  Fixlein's  stomach 
was  as  strong  as  his  heart  ;  and  with  him  no  species  of 
movement  could  subdue  the  peristaltic.  Drink  is  the  fric- 
tion-oil of  the  tongue,  as  eating  is  its  drag.  Yet,  not  till  he 
had  eaten  and  spoken  much,  did  the  pastor  fill  the  glasses. 
Then  indeed  he  drew  the  corksluice  from  the  bottle,  and 
set  forth  its  streams.  The  sickly  mother,  of  a  being  still 
hid  beneath  her  heart,  turned  her  eyes,  in  embarrassed 
emotion,  on  the  old  woman  only  ;  and  could  scarcely  chide 
him  for  sending  to  the  city  wine-merchant  on  her  account. 
He  took  a  glass  in  each  hand,  for  each  of  the  two  whom  he 
loved,  and  handed  them  to  his  mother  and  his  wife,  and 
said:  uTo  thy  long,  long  life,  Thiennette!  —  And  your 
health  and  happiness,  Mamma  !  — And  a  glad  arrival  to  our 
jittle  one,  if  God  so  bless  us  !  " — "  My  son,"  said  the  gar- 
deneress,  "  it  is  to  thy  long  life  that  we  must  drink ;  for  it  is 
by  thee  we  are  supported.  God  grant  thee  length  of  days!1' 
added  she,  with  stifled  voice,  and  her  eyes  betrayed  her 
tears. 

I  nowhere  find  a  livelier  emblem  of  the  female  sex,  in  all 
its  boundless  levity,  than   in   the   case   where  a  woman   is 


LIFE    OF    OJJINTTJS    FIXLEIN.  325 

carrying  the  angel  of  Death  beneath  her  heart,  and  yet  in 
these  nine  months  full  of  mortal  tokens  thinks  of  nothing 
more  important  than  of  who  shall  be  the  gossips,  and  what 
shall  be  cooked  at  the  christening.  But  thou,  Thiennette, 
hadst  nobler  thoughts,  though  these  too  along  with  them. 
The  still  hidden  darling  of  thy  heart  was  resting  before  thy 
eyes  like  a  little  angel  sculptured  on  a  grave-stone,  and 
pointing  with  its  small  linger  to  the  hour  when  thou  shouldst 
die  ;  and  every  morning  and  every  evening  thou  thoughtest 
of  death  with  a  certainly  of  which  I  yet  knew  not  the 
reasons  ;  and  to  thee  it  was  as  if  the  Earth  were  a  dark 
mineral  cave  where  man's  blood  like  stalaclitic  water  drops 
down,  and  in  dropping  raises  shapes  which  gleam  so  tran- 
siently, and  so  quickly  fade  away !  And  that  was  the 
cause  why  tears  were  continually  trickling  from  thy  soft 
eyes,  and  betraying  all  thy  anxious  thoughts  about  thy  child; 
but  thou  repaidst  the.se  sad  effusions  of  thy  heart  by  the 
embrace  in  which,  with  new-awakened  love,  thou  fellest  on 
thy  husband's  neck,  and  saidst :  u  De  as  it  may,  God's  will 
be  done,  so  thou  and  my  child  are  left  alive!  —  But  I  know 
well  that  thou,  Dearest,  lovest  me  as  I  do  thee.".  .  .  Lay 
thy  hand,  good  mother,  full  of  blessings,  on  the  two;  and 
thou  kind  Fate,  never  lift  thine  away  from  them!  — 

It  is  with  emotion  and  good  wishes  that  I  witness  the  kiss 
of  two  fair  friends,  or  the  embracing  of  two  virtuous  lovers; 
and  from  the  fire  of  their  altar  sparks  fly  over  to  me  ;  but 
what  is  this  to  our  sympathetic  exaltation,  when  we  see  two 
mortals,  bending  under  the  same  burden,  bound  to  the  same 
duties,  animated  to  the  same  care  for  the  same  little  darlings 
—  fall  on  one  another's  overflowing  hearts,  in  some  fair 
hour?  And  if  these,  moreover,  are  two  mortals  who  already 
wear  the  mourning-weeds  of  life,  I  mean  old  age,  whose 
hair  and  cheeks  are  now  grown  colorless,  and  eyes  grown 
dim,  and   whose  faces  a  thousand   thorns   have  marred  into 

vol.  ii.  28 


326  RICHTER. 

images  of  Sorrow  ;  —  when  these  two  clasp  each  other  with 
such  wearied,  aged  arms,  and  so  near  to  the  precipice  of 
the  grave,  and  when  they  say  or  think  :  "All  in  us  is  dead, 
but  not  our  love  —  O  we  have  lived  and  suffered  long  to- 
gether, and  now  we  will  hold  out  our  hands  to  Death  togeth- 
er also,  and  let  him  carry  us  away  together," — does  not 
all  within  us  cry  :  O  Love,  thy  spark  is  superior  to  Time  ; 
it  burns  neither  in  joy  nor  in  the  cheek  of  roses  ;  it  dies  not, 
neither  under  a  thousand  tears,  nor  under  the  snow  of  old 
age,  nor  under  the  ashes  of  thy  —  beloved.  It  never  dies; 
and  Thou,  All-good  !  if  there  were  no  eternal  love,  there 
were  no  love  at  all 

To  the  Parson  it  was  easier  than  it  is  to  me  to  pave  for 
himself  a  transition  from  the  heart  to  the  digestive  faculty. 
He  now  submitted  to  Thiennette  (whose  voice  at  once  grew 
cheerful,  while  her  eyes  time  after  time  began  to  sparkle) 
his  purpose  to  take  advantage  of  the  frosty  weather  and 
have  the  winter  meat  slaughtered  and  salted.  "  The  pig  can 
scarcely  rise,"  said  he  ;  and  forthwith  he  fixed  the  deter- 
mination of  the  women,  farther  the  butcher,  and  the  day, 
and  all  et  ceteras ;  appointing  everything  with  a  degree  of 
punctuality,  such  as  the  war-college  (when  it  applies  the 
cupping-glass,  the  battle-sword,  to  the  overfull  system  of 
mankind)  exhibits  on  the  previous  day,  in  its  arrangements, 
before  it  drives  a  province  into  the  baiting-ring  and  slaugh- 
ter-house. 

This  settled,  he  began  to  talk  and  feel  quite  joyously  about 
the  course  of  winter,  which  had  commenced  to-day  at  two- 
and-twenty  minutes  past  eight  in  the  morning ;  "  for,"  said 
he,  "  newyear  is  close  at  hand  ;  and  we  shall  not  need  so 
much  candle  tomorrow-night  as  to-night."  His  mother,  it  is 
true,  came  athwart  him  with  the  weapons  of  her  five  senses ; 
but  he  fronted  her  with  his  Astronomical  Tables,  and  proved 
that  the  lengthening  of  the  day  was  no  less  undeniable  than 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  327 

imperceptible.  In  the  last  place,  like  most  official  and 
married  persons,  heeding  little  whether  his  women  took  him 
or  not,  he  informed  them  in  juristico-theological  phrase : 
"  That  he  would  put  off  no  longer,  but  write  this  very- 
afternoon  to  the  venerable  Consistorium,  in  whose  hands 
lay  the  jus  circa  sacra,  for  a  new  Ball  to  the  church-steeple  ; 
and  the  rather,  as  he  hoped  before  newyear's-day  to  raise  a 
bountiful  subscription  from  the  parish  for  this  purpose.  — 
If  God  spare  us  till  spring,"  added  he  with  peculiar  cheer- 
fulness, "  and  thou  wert  happily  recovered,  I  might  so 
arrange  the  whole  that  the  ball  should  be  set  up  at  thy  first 
church-going,  dame  !  " 

Thereupon  he  shifted  his  chair  from  the  dinner  and  des- 
sert table  to  the  work-table  ;  and  spent  the  half  of  his 
afternoon  over  the  petition  for  the  steeple-ball.  As  there 
still  remained  a  little  space  till  dusk,  he  clapped  his  tackle 
to  his  new  learned  Opus,  of  which  I  must  now  afford  a  little 
glimpse.  Out  of  doors  among  the  snow,  there  stood  near 
Hukelum  an  old  Robber-Castle,  which  Fixlein,  every  day 
in  Autumn,  had  hovered  round  like  a  revenant,  with  a  view 
to  gauge  it,  ichnographically  to  delineate  it,  to  put  every 
window-bar  and  every  bridle-hook  of  it  correctly  on  paper. 
He  believed  he  was  not  expecting  too  much,  if  thereby  — 
and  by  some  drawings  of  the  not  so  much  vertical  as  hori- 
zontal walls  —  he  hoped  to  impart  to  his  " Architectural 
Correspondence  of  two  Friends  concerning  the  Hukelum 
Robber-Castle""  that  last  polish  and  labor  limce  which  con- 
tents Reviewers.  For  towards  the  critical  Starchamber  of 
the  Reviewers  he  entertained  not  that  contempt  which  some 
authors  actually  feel  —  or  only  affect,  as,  for  instance,  I. 
From  this  mouldered  Robber- Louvre,  there  grew  for  him 
more  flowers  of  joy  than  ever  in  all  probability  had  grown 
from  it  of  old  for  its  owners.  —  To  my  knowledge,  it  is  an 
anecdote  not  hitherto  made  public,  that  for  all  this  no  man 


328 


KICHTER. 


but  Busching  has  to  answer.  Fixlein  had,  not  long  ago, 
among  the  rubbish  of  the  church  letter-room,  stumbled  on  a 
paper  wherein  the  Geographer  had  been  requesting  special 
information  about  the  statistics  of  the  village.  Busching, 
it  is  true,  had  picked  up  nothing  —  accordingly,  indeed, 
Hukelum,  in  his  Geography,  is  still  omitted  altogether;  — 
but  this  pestilential  letter  had  infected  Fixlein  with  the 
spring-fever  of  Ambition,  so  that  his  palpitating  heart  was 
no  longer  to  be  stilled  or  held  in  check,  except  by  the 
assafoetida-emulsion  of  a  review.  It  is  with  authorcraft  as 
with  love;  both  of  them  for  decades  long  one  may  equally 
desire  and  forbear  ;  but  is  the  first  spark  once  thrown 
into  the  powder-magazine,  it  burns  to  the  end  of  the 
chapter. 

Simply  because  winter  had  commenced  by  the  Almanac, 
the  fire  must  be  larger  than  usual  ;  for  warm  rooms,  like 
large  furs  and  bearskin-caps,  were  things  which  he  loved 
more  than  you  would  figure.  The  dusk,  this  fair  chiaroscuro 
of  the  day,  this  colored  foreground  of  the  night,  he  length- 
ened out  as  far  as  possible,  that  he  might  study  Christmas 
discourses  therein  ;  and  yet  could  his  wife,  without  scruple, 
just  as  he  was  pacing  up  and  down  the  room,  with  the 
sowing-sheet  full  of  divine  word-seeds  hung  round  his 
shoulder, —  hold  up  to  him  a  spoonful  of  alegar,  that  he 
might  try  the  same  in  his  palate,  and  decide  whether  she 
should  yet  draw  it  off.  Nay,  did  he  not  in  all  cases,  though 
fonder  of  roe-fishes  himself,  order  a  milter  to  be  drawn 
from  the  herring-barrel,  because  his  good-wife  liked  it 
better  ?  — 

Here  light  was  brought  in  ;  and  as  Winter  was  just  now 
commencing  his  glass-painting  on  the  windows,  his  ice 
flower-pieces,  and  his  snow-foliage,  our  Parson  felt  that  it 
was  time  to  read  something  cold,  which  he  pleasantly  named 
his  cold  collation  ;  namely,  the  description  of  some  unutteiv 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  329 

ably  frosty  land.  On  the  present  occasion,  it  was  the  winter 
history  of  the  four  Russian  sailors  on  Nova  Zembla.  I,  for 
my  share,  do  often  in  summer,  when  the  sultry  zephyr  is 
inflating  the  flower-bells,  append  certain  charts  and  sketches 
of  Italy,  or  the  East,  as  additional  landscapes  to  those  among 
which  I  am  sitting.  And  yet  to-night  he  farther  took  up  the 
Weekly  Chronicle  of  Flachsenfingen  ;  and  amid  the  bomb- 
shells, pestilences,  famines,  comets  with  long  tails,  and  the 
roaring  of  all  the  Hell-floods  of  another  Thirty  Years1  War, 
he  could  still  listen  with  the  one  ear  towards  the  kitchen, 
where  the  salad  for  his  roast-duck  was  just  a-cutting. 

Good-night,  old  Fixlein  !  I  am  tired.  May  kind  Heaven 
send  thee,  with  the  young  year  1794,  when  the  Earth  shall 
again  carry  her  people,  like  precious  night-moths,  on  leaves 
and  flowers,  the  new  steeple-ball,  and  a  thick,  handsome  — 
boy,  to  boot ! 


ELEVENTH  LETTER-BOX. 

Spring ;  Investiture  ;  and  Childbirth. 

I  have  just  risen  from  a  singular  dream ;  but  the  fore- 
going Box  makes  it  natural.  I  dreamed  that  all  was  ver- 
dant, all  full  of  odors  ;  and  I  was  looking  up  at  a  steeple- 
ball  glittering  in  the  sun,  from  my  station  in  the  window  of 
a  little  white  garden-house,  my  eye-lids  full  of  flower-pollen, 
my  shoulders  full  of  thin  cherry  blossoms,  and  my  ears  full 
of  humming  from  the  neighboring  bee-hives.  Then,  me- 
thought,  advancing  slowly  through  the  beds,  came  the  Hu- 
kelum  Parson,  and  stept  into  the  garden-house,  and  solemnly 
said  to  me  :  "  Honored  Sir,  my  wife  has  just  brought  me  a 
little  boy  ;  and  I  make  bold  to  solicit  your  Honor  to  do  the 
28* 


330 


RICHTEU. 


holy  office  for  the  same,  when  it  shall  be  received  into  the 
bosom  of  the  church." 

I  naturally  started  up,  and  there  was  —  Parson  Fixlein 
standing  bodily  at  my  bedside,  and  requesting  me  to  be 
godfather  ;  for  Thiennette  had  given  him  a  son  last  night 
about  one  o'clock.  The  confinement  had  been  as  light  and 
happy  as  could  be  conceived  ;  for  this  reason,  that  the 
father  had,  some  months  before,  been  careful  to  provide  one 
of  those  Klapper  steins,  as  we  call  them,  which  are  found  in 
the  aerie  of  the  eagle,  and  therewith  to  alleviate  the  travail  ; 
for  this  stone  performs,  in  its  way,  all  the  service  which  the 
bonnet  of  that  old  Minorite  monk  in  Naples,  of  whom  Go- 
rani  informs  us,  could  accomplish  for  people  in  such  circum- 
stances, who  put  it  on 

—  I  might  vex  the  reader  still  longer  ;  but  I  willingly  give 
up,  and  show  him  how  the  matter  stood. 

Such  a  May  as  the  present  (of  1794),  Nature  has  not>  in 
the  memory  of  man,  —  begun  ;  for  this  is  but  the  fifteenth 
of  it.  People  of  reflection  have  for  centuries  been  vexed 
once  every  year,  that  our  German  singers  should  indite 
May-songs,  since  several  other  months  deserve  such  a  poet- 
ical night-music  much  better;  and  I  myself  have  often 
gone  so  far  as  to  adopt  the  idiom  of  our  market-women,  and 
instead  of  May  butter,  to  say  June  butter,  as  also  June, 
March,  April  songs.  —  But  thou,  kind  May  of  this  year, 
thou  deservest  to  thyself  all  the  songs  which  were  ever 
made  on  thy  rude  namesakes  !  —  By  Heaven  !  when  I  now 
issue  from  the  wavering,  chequered  acacia-grove  of  the 
Castle-garden,  in  which  I  am  writing  this  Chapter,  and  come 
forth  into  the  broad,  living  day,  and  look  up  to  the  warming 
Heaven,  and  over  its  Earth  budding  out  beneath  it, —  the 
Spring  rises  before  me  like  a  vast  full  cloud,  with  a  splendor 
of  blue  and  green.  I  see  the  Sun  standing  amid  roses  in 
the  western  sky,  into   which   he   has  thrown  his   ray-brush, 


LIFE    OF    QJJINTUS    FIXLE1N.  331 

wherewith  he  has  to-day  been  painting  the  Earth;  —  and 
when  I  look  round  a  little  in  our  picture-exhibition,  his  en- 
amelling is  still  hot  on  the  mountains ;  on  the  moist  chalk 
of  the  moist  Earth,  the  flowers  full  of  sap-colors  are  laid 
out  to  dry,  and  the  forget-me-not  with  miniature  colors  ; 
under  the  varnish  of  the  streams,  the  skyey  Painter  has 
pencilled  his  own  eye  ;  and  the  clouds,  like  a  decoration- 
painter,  he  has  touched  off  with  wild  outlines  and  single 
tints  ;  and  so  he  stands  at  the  border  of  the  Earth,  and  looks 
back  upon  his  stately  Spring,  whose  robe-folds  are  valleys, 
whose  breast-bouquet  is  gardens,  and  whose  blush  is  a  vernal 
evening,  and  who,  when  she  arises,  shall  be  —  Summer. 

But  to  proceed  !  Every  spring  —  and  especially  in  such  a 
spring  —  I  imitate  on  foot  our  birds  of  passage  ;  and  travel 
off  the  hypochondriacal  sediment  of  winter;  but  I  do  not 
think  I  should  have  seen  even  the  steeple-ball  of  Hukelum, 
which  is  to  be  set  up  one  of  these  days,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  Parson's  family,  had  not  I  happened  to  be  visiting  the 
Flachsenfingen  Superintendent  and  Consistorialmth.  From 
him  I  got  acquainted  with  Fixlein's  history — every  Candi- 
datus  must  deliver  an  account  of  his  life  to  the  Consisto- 
rium —  and  with  his  still  madder  petition  for  a  steeple-ball. 
I  observed,  with  pleasure,  how  gaily  the  cob  was  diving  and 
swashing  about  in  his  duck-pool  and  milk-bath  of  life;  and 
forthwith  determined  on  a  journey  to  his  shore.  It  is  sin- 
gular, that  is  to  say,  manlike,  that  when  we  have  for  years 
kept  prizing  and  describing  some  original  person  or  original 
book,  yet  the  moment  we  see  such,  they  anger  us  ;  we 
would  have  them  fit  us  and  delight  us  in  all  points,  as  if  any 
originality  could  do  this  but  our  own. 

It  was  Saturday,  the  third  of  May,  when  I,  with  the  Super- 
intendent, the  Semior  Capiluli,  and  some  temporal  Raths, 
mounted  and  rolled  off,  and  in  two  carriages  were  driven  to 
the  Parson's    door.      The   matter  was,  he  was  not  yet  — 


332  RICHTER. 

invested,  and  to-morrow  this  was  to  be  done.  I  little 
thought,  while  we  whirled  by  the  white  espalier  of  the 
Castle-garden,  that  there  I  was  to  write  another  book. 

I  still  see  the  Parson,  in  his  peruke-minever  and  head- 
case,  come  springing  to  the  coach-door  and  lead  us  out ;  so 
smiling  —  so  courteous  —  so  vain  of  the  disloaded  freight, 
and  so  attentive  to  it.  He  looked  as  if  in  the  journey  of 
life  he  had  never  once  put  on  the  travelling -gauze  of  Sor- 
row ;  Thiennette  again  seemed  never  to  have  thrown  hers 
back.  How  neat  was  everything  in  the  house,  how  dainty, 
decorated,  and  polished!  And  yet  so  quiet,  without  the 
cursed  alarm-ringing  of  servants'  bells,  and  without  the  bass- 
drum  tumult  of  stair-pedaling.  Whilst  the  gentlemen,  my 
road-companions,  were  sitting  in  state  in  the  upper  room,  I 
flitted,  as  my  way  is,  like  a  smell  over  the  whole  house,  and 
my  path  led  me  through  the  sitting-room  over  the  kitchen, 
and  at  last  into  the  churchyard  beside  the  house.  Good 
Saturday  !  I  will  paint  thy  hours  as  I  may,  with  the  black 
asphaltos  of  ink,  on  the  tablets  of  other  souls  !  In  the  sit- 
ting-room, I  lifted  from  the  desk  a  volume  gilt  on  the  back 
and  edges,  and  bearing  this  title  :  "  Holy  Sayings,  by  Fix- 
lein.  First  Collection"  And  as  I  looked  to  see  where  it 
had  been  printed,  the  Holy  Collection  turned  out  to  be  in 
writing.  I  handled  the  quills,  and  dipped  into  the  negro- 
black  of  the  ink,  and  I  found  that  all  was  right  and  good. 
With  your  fluttering  gentlemen  of  letters,  who  hold  only  a 
department  of  the  foreign,  and  none  of  the  home  affairs, 
nothing  (except  some  other  things  about  them)  can  be 
worse  than  their  ink  and  pens.  I  also  found  a  little  copper- 
plate, to  which  I  shall  in  due  time  return. 

In  the  kitchen,  a  place  not  more  essential  for  the  writing 
of  an  English  novel  than  for  the  acting  of  a  German  one, 
I  could  plant  myself  beside  Thiennette,  and  help  her  to 
blow  the  fire,  and  look  at  once  into  her  face  and  her  burn- 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    F1XLE1N.  333 

ing  coals.  Though  she  was  in  wedlock,  a  state  in  which 
white  roses  on  the  cheeks  are  changed  for  red  ones,  and 
young  women  are  similar  to  a  similitude  given  in  my  Note  ;* 
—  and  although  the  blazing  wood  threw  a  false  rouge  over 
her,  I  guessed  how  pale  she  must  have  been  ;  and  my  sym- 
pathy in  her  paleness  rose  still  higher  at  the  thought  of  the 
burden  which  Fate  had  now  not  so  much  taken  from  her,  as 
laid  in  her  arms  and  nearer  to  her  heart.  In  truth,  a  man 
must  never  have  reflected  on  the  Creation-moment,  when 
the  Universe  first  rose  from  the  bosom  of  an  Eternity,  if  he 
does  not  view  with  philosophic  reverence  a  woman,  whose 
thread  of  life  a  secret,  all-wondrous  Hand  is  spinning  to  a 
second  thread,  and  who  veils  within  her  the  transition  from 
Nothingness  to  Existence,  from  Eternity  to  time;  —  but 
still  less  can  a  man  have  any  heart  of  flesh,  if  his  soul,  in 
presence  of  a  woman,  who,  to  an  unknown,  unseen  being,  is 
sacrificing  more  than  we  will  sacrifice  when  it  is  seen  and 
known,  namely,  her  nights,  her  joys,  often  her  life,  does  not 
bow  lower,  and  with  deeper  emotion,  than  in  presence  of  a 
whole  nun-orchestra  on  their  Sahara-desert;  —  and  worse 
than  either  is  the  man  for  whom  his  own  mother  has  not 
made  all  other  mothers  venerable. 

"It  is  little  serviceable  to  thee,  poor  Thiennette,"  thought 
I,  "  that  now,  when  thy  bitter  cup  of  sickness  is  made  to  run 
over,  thou  must  have  loud  festivities  come  crowding  round 
thee."  I  meant  the  Investiture  and  the  Ball-raising.  My 
rank,  the  diploma  of  which  the  reader  will  find  stitched  in 
with  the  Dog-post-days,  and  which  had  formerly  been  hers, 
brought  about  my  ears  a  host  of  repelling,  embarrassed, 
wavering  titles  of  address  from  her;  which  people,  to  whom 
they   have  once    belonged,  are   at    all  times   apt   to  parade 

*  To  the  Spring,  namely,  which  begins  with  snow-drops,  and 
ends  with  roses  and  pinks.  — 


334  iuctiTER. 

before  superiors  or  inferiors,  and  which  it  now  cost  me  no  little 
trouble  to  disperse.  Through  the  whole  Saturday  and  Sun- 
day, I  could  never  get  into  the  right  track  either  with  her  or 
him,  till  the  other  guests  were  gone.  As  for  the  mother, 
she  acted,  like  obscure  ideas,  powerfully  and  constantly, 
but  out  of  view  ;  this  arose  in  part  from  her  idolatrous  fear 
of  us  ;  and  partly  also  from  a  slight  shade  of  care  (probably 
springing  from  the  state  of  her  daughter),  which  had  spread 
over  her  like  a  little  cloud. 

I  cruised  about,  so  long  as  the  moon-crescent  glimmered 
in  the  sky,  over  the  churchyard  ;  and  softened  my  fantasies, 
which  are  at  any  rate  too  prone  to  paint  with  the  brown  of 
crumbling  mummies,  not  only  by  the  red  of  twilight,  but 
also  by  reflecting  how  easily  our  eyes  and  our  hearts  can 
become  reconciled  even  to  the  ruins  of  Death ;  a  reflection 
which  the  Schoolmaster,  whistling  as  he  arranged  the 
charnel-house  for  the  morrow,  and  the  Parson's  maid  sing- 
ing, as  she  reaped  away  the  grass  from  the  graves,  readily 
enough  suggested  to  me.  And  why  should  not  this  habitua- 
tion to  all  forms  of  Fate  in  the  other  world,  also,  be  a  gift 
reserved  for  us  in  our  nature  by  the  bounty  of  our  great 
Preserver  ?  —  I  perused  the  grave-stones  ;  and  I  think  even 
now  that  Superstition*  is  right  in  connecting  with  the  read- 
ing of  such  things  a  loss  of  memory  ;  at  all  events,  one  does 
forget  a  thousand  things  belonging  to  this  world 

The  Investiture  on  Sunday  (whose  Gospel,  of  the  Good 
Shepherd,  suited  well  with  the  ceremony)  I  must  despatch 
in  few  words  ;  because  nothing  truly  sublime  can  bear  to 
be  treated  of  in  many.  However,  I  shall  impart  the  most 
memorable  circumstances,  when  I  say  that  there  was  — 
drinking  (in  the  Parsonage),  —  music-making  (in  the  Choir), 

*  This  Christian  superstition  is  not  only  a  Rabbinical,  but  also  a 
Roman  one.     Cicero  de  Senectute. 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  335 

—  reading  (of  the  Presentation  by  the  Senior,  and  of  the 
Ratification-rescript  by  the  lay  Rath),  —  and  preaching,  by 
the  Consistorialrath,  who  took  the  soul-curer  by  the  hand, 
and  presented,  made  over,  and  guaranteed  him  to  the  con- 
gregation, and  them  to  him.  Fixlein  felt  that  he  was  de- 
parting as  a  high-priest  from  the  church,  which  he  had 
entered  as  a  country  parson  ;  and  all  day  he  had  not  once 
the  heart  to  ban.  When  a  man  is  treated  with  solemnity, 
he  looks  upon  himself  as  a  higher  nature,  and  goes  through 
his  solemn  feasts  devoutly. 

This  indenturing,  this  monastic  profession,  our  Head- 
Rabbis  and  Lodge-masters  (our  Superintendents)  have 
usually  a  taste  for  putting  off  till  once  the  pastor  has  been 
some  years  ministering  among  the  people,  to  whom  they 
hereby  present  him  ;  as  the  early  Christians  frequently 
postponed  their  consecration  and  investiture  to  Christianity, 
their  baptism  namely,  till  the  day  when  they  died.  Nay,  I  do 
not  even  think  this  clerical  Investiture  would  lose  much  of 
its  usefulness,  if  it  and  the  declaring-vacant  of  the  office 
were  reserved  for  the  same  day ;  the  rather,  as  this 
usefulness  consists  entirely  in  two  items  ;  what  the  Su- 
perintendent and  his  Raths  can  eat,  and  what  they  can 
pocket. 

Not  till  towards  evening  did  the  Parson  and  I  get  ac- 
quainted. The  Investiture  officials  and  elevation  pully- 
men,  had,  throughout  the  whole  evening,  been  very  vio- 
lently —  breathing.  I  mean  thus ;  as  these  gentlemen  could 
not  but  be  aware,  by  the  most  ancient  theories  and  the  latest 
experiments,  that  air  was  nothing  else  than  a  sort  of  rarefied 
and  exploded  water,  it  became  easy  for  them  to  infer,  that, 
conversely,  water  was  nothing  else  than  a  denser  sort  of 
air.  Wine-drinking,  therefore,  is  nothing  else  but  the 
breathing  of  an  air  pressed  together  into  proper  spissitude, 
and   sprinkled   over   with   a  few   perfumes.     Now,    in    our 


336  RICHTER. 

days,  by  clerical  persons  too  much  (fluid)  breath  can  never 
be  inhaled  through  the    mouth  ;  seeing   the   dignity  of  their 
station  excludes  them  from  that  breathing  through  the  smaller 
pores,  which   Abernethy  so   highly   recommends   under  the 
name  of  air-bath ;  and  can  the  Gullet  in  their  case  be  aught 
else    than    door-neighbor  to  the    Windpipe,  the    consonant 
and  fellow-shoot  of  the  Windpipe?  — 1  am  running  astray  ; 
I  meant  to  signify  that  I  this  evening  had  adopted  the  same 
opinion  ;  only  that  1  used  this  air  or  aether,  not  like  the  rest 
for  loud    laughter,   but  for   the   more  quiet  contemplation  of 
life  in   general.     I   even    shot   forth   at   my  gossip   certain 
speeches   which  betrayed  devoutness.  These  he  at  first  took 
for  jests,  being  aware  that  I  was  from  Court,  and  of  quality. 
But  the  concave  mirror  of  the  wine-mist  at  length  suspended 
the  images  of  my  soul,  enlarged  and  embodied  like  spiritual 
shapes,  in  the  air  before  me. —  Life  shaded  itself  off  to  my 
eyes  like  a   hasty  summer   night,  which  we   little   fire-flies 
shoot  across  with  transient  gleam  ;  —  I  said  to  him  that  man 
must  turn  himself  like  the   leaves  of  the  great  mallow,  at 
the   different   day-seasons  of  his  life,  now  to  the  rising  sun, 
now  to  the  setting,  now  to  the   night,  towards  the  Earth  and 
its   graves  ;  —  I  said,    the    omnipotence    of  Goodness    was 
driving  us   and    the   centuries    of  the    world    towards    the 
gates  of  the  City  of  God,  as,  according   to  Euler,  the  resis- 
tance of  the   Mtlier  leads  the   circling   Earth  towards  the 
Sun,  &c.  &c. 

On  the  strength  of  these  entremets,  he  considered  me  the 
first  theologian  of  his  age ;  and  had  he  been  obliged  to  go  to 
war,  would  previously  have  taken  my  advice  on  the  matter, 
as  belligerent  powers  were  wont  of  old  from  the  theologians 
of  the  Reformation.  I  hide  not  from  myself,  however,  that 
what  preachers  call  vanity  of  the  world  is  something  alto- 
gether different  from  what  philosophy  so  calls.  When  I, 
moreover,  signified  to  him  that  I  was  not  ashamed  to  be  an 


LIFE    OF    QU1NTUS    FIXLEIN.  337 

Author  ;  but  had  a  turn  for  working  up  this  and  the  other 
biography  ;  and  that  I  had  got  a  sight  of  his  Life  in  the 
hands  of  the  Superintendent ;  and  might  be  in  case  to  pre- 
pare a  printed  one  therefrom,  if  so  were  he  would  assist  me 
with  here  and  there  a  tint  of  flesh-color,  —  then  was  my 
silk,  which,  alas  !  not  only  isolates  one  from  electric  fire, 
but  also  from  a  kindlier  sort  of  it,  the  only  grate  which 
rose  between  his  arms  and  me  ;  for,  like  the  most  part  of 
poor  country  parsons,  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  forget  the 
rank  of  any  man,  or  to  vivify  his  own  on  a  higher  one.  He 
said :  "  He  would  acknowledge  it  with  veneration,  if  I 
should  mention  him  in  print ;  but  he  was  much  afraid  his 
life  was  too  common  and  too  poor  for  a  biography." 
Nevertheless,  he  opened  me  the  drawer  of  his  Letter-boxes ; 
and  said,  perhaps,  he  had  hereby  been  paving  the  way  for 
me. 

The  main  point,  however,  was,  he  hoped  that  his  Errata, 
his  Exercitationes,  and  his  Letters  on  the  Robber- Castle, 
if  I  should  previously  send  forth  a  Life  of  tho  Author,  might 
be  better  received  ;  and  that  it  would  be  much  the  same  as 
if  I  accompanied  them  with  a  Preface. 

In  short,  when  on  Monday  the  other  dignitaries  with  their 
nimbus  of  splendor  had  dissipated,  I  alone,  like  a  precipitate, 
abode  with  him ;  and  am  still  abiding,  that  is,  from  the 
fifth  of  May  (the  Public  should  take  the  Almanac  of  1794, 
and  keep  it  open  beside  them)  to  the  fifteenth  ;  to-day  is 
Thursday,  to-morrow  is  the  sixteenth  and  Friday,  when 
comes  the  Spinat-Kirmes,  or  Spinage-Wake,  as  they  call  it, 
and  the  uplifting  of  the  steeple-ball,  which  I  just  purposed  to 
await  before  I  went.  Now,  however,  I  do  not  go  so  soon  ; 
for  on  Sunday  I  have  to  assist  at  the  baptismal  ceremony, 
as  baptismal  agent  for  my  little  future  godson.  Whoever 
pays  attention  to  me,  and  keeps  the  Almanac  open,  may 
readily  guesss  why  the  christening  is  put  off  till  Sunday  ; 
vol.  11.  29 


338  RICHTER. 

for  it  is  that  memorable  Cantata-Sunday,  which  once,  for 
its  mad,  narcotic  hemlock-virtues,  was  of  importance  in 
our  History  ;  but  is  now  so  only  for  the  fair  betrothment, 
which  after  two  years  we  mean  to  celebrate  with  a 
baptism. 

Truly  it  is  not  in  my  power — for  want  of  colors  and 
presses — to  paint  or  print  upon  my  paper  the  soft,  balmy 
flower-garland  of  a  fortnight  which  has  here  wound  itself 
about  my  sickly  life  ;  but  with  a  single  day  I  shall  attempt 
it.  Man,  I  know  well,  cannot  prognosticate  either  his  joys 
or  his  sorrows,  still  less  repeat  them,  either  in  living  or 
writing. 

The  black  hour  of  coffee  has  gold  in  its  mouth  for  us  and 
honey  ;  here,  in  the  morning  coolness,  we  aie  all  gathered  ; 
we  maintain  popular  conversation,  that  so  the  parsoness  and 
the  gardeneress  may  be  able  to  take  share  in  it.  The 
morning  service  in  the  church,  where  often  the  whole 
people*  are  sitting  and  singing,  divides  us.  While  the  bell 
is  sounding,  I  march  with  my  writing-gear  into  the  singing 
Castle-garden;  and  seat  myself  in  the  fresh  acacia-grove,  at 
the  dewy  two-legged  table.  Fixlein's  Letter-boxes  I  keep 
by  me  in  my  pocket  ;  and  I  have  only  to  look  and  abstract 
from  his  what  can  be  of  use  in  my  own.  —  Strange  enough  ! 
so  easily  do  we  forget  a  thing  in  describing  it,  I  really 
did  not  recollect  for  a  moment  that  I  am  now  sitting  at 
the  very  grove-table  of  which  I  speak,  and  writing  all 
this.  — 

My  gossip  in  the  mean  time  is  also  laboring  for  the  world. 
His  study  is  a  sort  of  sacristy,  and  his  printing-press  a 
pulpit,  wherefrom  he  preaches  to  all  men ;  for  an  Author  is 
the  Town-chaplain  of  the  Universe.  A  man  who  is  making 
a  Book   will   scarcely  hang   himself;  all  rich   Lords'-sons, 

*For,  according  to  the  Jurists,  fifteen  persons  make  a  people. 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  6S\) 

therefore,  should  labor  for  the  press  ;  for,  in  that  case,  when 
you  awake  too  early  in  bed,  you  have  always  a  plan,  an  aim, 
and  therefore  a  cause  before  you  why  you  should  get  out  of  it. 
Better  off  too  is  the  author  who  collects  rather  than  invents, 
—  for  the  latter  with  its  eating  fire  calcines  the  heart;  I 
praise  the  Antiquary,  the  Heraldist,  Note-maker,  Compiler  ; 
I  esteem  the  Title-perch  (a  fish  called  Per ca-Diagr amma, 
because  of  the  letters  on  its  scales),  and  the  Printer  (a 
chafer,  called  Scarabceus  Typographies,  which  eats  letters  in 
the  bark  of  fir),  —  neither  of  them  needs  any  greater  or 
fairer  arena  in  the  world  than  a  piece  of  rag-paper,  or  any 
other  laying-apparatus  than  a  pointed  pencil,  wherewith  to 
lay  his  four-and-twenty  letter-eggs.  —  In  regard  to  the 
catalogue  raisonne,  which  my  gossip  is  now  drawing  up  of 
German  Errata,  I  have  several  times  suggested  to  him, 
"  that  it  were  good  if  he  extended  his  researches  in  one 
respect,  and  revised  the  rule  by  which  it  has  been  com- 
puted, that  e.  g.  for  a  hundredweight  of  pica  black-letter, 
four  hundred  and  fifty  semicolons,  three  hundred  periods, 
&c,  are  required  ;  and  to  recount,  and  see  whether,  in  Politi- 
cal writings  and  Dedications,  the  fifty  notes  of  admiration 
for  a  hundredweight  of  pica  black-letter  were  not  far 
too  small  an  allowance,  and  if  so,  what  the  real  quantity 
was  ?  " 

Several  days  he  wrote  nothing  ;  but  wrapped  himself  in 
the  slough  of  his  parson's-cloak  ;  and  so  in  his  canonicals, 
beside  the  Schoolmaster,  put  the  few  A-b-c  shooters,  which 
were  not,  like  forest-shooters,  absent  on  furlough  by  reason 
of  the  spring,  —  through  their  platoon  firing  in  the  Horn- 
book. He  never  did  more  than  his  duty,  but  also  never 
less.  It  brought  a  soft,  benignant  warmth  over  his  heart,  to 
think  that  he,  who  had  once  ducked  under  a  School-inspec- 
torship, was  now  one  himself. 

About  ten  o'clock  we   meet  from  our  different  museums, 


340 


RICHTER. 


and  examine  the  village,  especially  the  Biographical  furni- 
ture and  holy  places,  which  I  chance  that  morning  to 
have  had  under  my  pen  or  pentagraph  ;  because  I  look  at 
them  with  more  interest  after  my  description  than  before  it. 

Next  comes  dinner.  — 

After  the  concluding  grace,  which  is  too  long,  we  both  of 
us  set  to  entering  the  charitable  subsidies,  and  religious 
donations,  which  our  parishioners  have  remitted  to  the  sink- 
ing or  rather  rising  fund  of  the  church-box  for  the  purchase 
of  the  new  steeple-globe,  into  two  ledgers  ;  the  one  of  these, 
with  the  names  of  the  subscribers,  or  (in  case  they  have 
subscribed  for  their  children)  with  their  children's  names 
also,  is  to  be  inurned  in  a  leaden  capsule,  and  preserved  in 
the  steeple-ball ;  the  other  will  remain  below  among  the 
parish  Registers.  You  cannot  fancy  what  contributions  the 
ambition  of  getting  into  the  Ball  brings  us  in ;  I  declare, 
several  peasants,  who  had  given  and  well  once  already,  con- 
tributed again  when  they  had  baptisms  ;  must  not  little 
Hans  be  in  the  Ball  too  ? 

After  this  book-keeping  by  double  entry,  my  gossip  took 
to  engraving  on  copper.  He  had  been  so  happy  as  to 
elicit  the  discovery,  that,  from  a  certain  stroke  resembling  an 
inverted  Latin  S,  the  capital  letters  of  our  German  Chan- 
cery-hand, beautiful  and  intertwisted  as  you  see  them  stand 
in  Law-deeds  and  Letters-of-nobility,  may  every  one  of 
them  be  composed  and  spun  out. 

"  Before  you  can  count  sixty,"  said  he  to  me,  "  I  take 
my  fundamental-stroke  and  make  you  any  letter  out  of 
it." 

I  merely  inverted  this  fundamental-stroke,  that  is,  gave 
him  a  German  S,  and  counted  sixty  till  he  had  it  done.  This 
line  of  beauty,  when  once  it  has  been  twisted  and  flourished 
into  all  the  capitals,  he  purposes,  by  copperplates  which  he 
is  himself  engraving,  to  make  more  common   for  the  use  of 


LIFE    OF    QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  341 

Chanceries ;  and  I  may  take  upon  me  to  give  the  Russian, 
the  Prussian,  and  a  few  other  smaller  Courts,  hopes  of  proof 
impressions  from  his  hand  ;  to  Under-Secretaries  they  are 
indispensable. 

Now  comes  evening  ;  and  it  is  time  for  us  both,  here 
forking  about  with  our  fruit-hooks  on  the  literary  Tree  of 
Knowledge,  at  the  risk  of  our  necks,  to  clamber  down  again 
into  the  meadow-flowers  and  pasturages  of  rural  joy.  We 
wait,  however,  till  the  busy  Thiennette,  whom  we  are  now 
to  receive  into  our  communion,  has  no  more  walks  to  take 
but  the  one  between  us.  Then  slowly  we  stept  along  (the 
sick  lady  was  weak)  through  the  office-houses;  that  is  to 
say,  through  stalls  and  their  population,  and  past  a  horrid 
lake  of  ducks,  and  past  a  little  milk-pond  of  carps,  to  both 
of  which  colonies,  I  and  the  rest,  like  princes,  gave  bread, 
seeing  we  had  it  in  view,  on  the  Sunday  after  the  christen- 
ing, to  —  take  them  for  bread  ourselves. 

The  sky  is  still  growing  kindlier  and  redder,  the  swallows 
and  the  blossom-trees  louder,  the  house-shadows  broader, 
and  men  more  happy.  The  clustering  blossoms  of  the 
acacia-grove  hang  down  over  our  cold  collation ;  and  the 
ham  is  not  stuck  (which  always  vexes  me)  with  flowers,  but 
beshaded  with  them  from  a  distance 

And  now  the  deeper  evening  and  the  nightingale  con- 
spire to  soften  me  ;  and  I  soften  in  my  turn  the  mild  beings 
round  me;  especially  the  pale  Thiennette,  to  whom,  or  to 
whose  heart,  after  the  apoplectic  crushings  of  a  down- 
pressed  youth,  the  most  violent  pulses  of  joy  are  heavier 
than  the  movements  of  pensive  sadness.  And  thus  beauti- 
fully runs  our  pure  transparent  life  along,  under  the  bloom- 
ing curtains  of  May;  and  in  our  modest  pleasure,  we  look 
with  timidity  neither  behind  us  nor  before  ;  as  people  who 
are  lifting  treasure  gaze  not  round  at  the  road  they  came,  or 
the  road  they  are  going. 
29* 


342  RICHTER. 

So  pass  our  days.  To-day,  however,  it  was  different ;  by 
this  time,  usually,  the  evening  meal  is  over  ;  and  the  Shock 
has  got  the  osseous-preparation  of  our  supper  between  his 
jaws  ;  but  to-night  I  am  still  sitting  here  alone  in  the  garden, 
writing  the  Eleventh  Letter-Box,  and  peeping  out  every 
instant  over  the  meadows,  to  see  if  my  gossip  is  not  com- 
ing. 

For  he  is  gone  to  town,  to  bring  a  whole  magazine  of 
spiceries ;  his  coat-pockets  are  wide.  Nay,  it  is  certain 
enough  that  oftentimes  he  brings  home  with  him,  simply  in 
his  coat-pocket,  considerable  flesh-tithes  from  his  Guardian, 
at  whose  house  he  alights  ;  though  truly,  intercourse  with  the 
polished  world  and  city,  and  the  refinement  of  manners 
thence  arising  —  for  he  calls  on  the  bookseller,  on  school- 
colleagues,  and  several  respectable  shopkeepers  —  does, 
much  more  than  flesh-fetching,  form  the  object  of  these 
journeys  to  the  city.  This  morning  he  appointed  me  regent 
head  of  the  house,  and  delivered  me  the  fasces  and  curule 
chair.  I  sat  the  whole  day  beside  the  young  pale  mother  ; 
and  could  not  but  think,  simply  because  the  husband  had  left 
me  there  as  his  representative,  that  I  liked  the  fair  soul 
better.  She  had  to  take  dark  colors,  and  paint  out  for  me 
the  winter  landscape  and  ice  region  of  her  sorrow-wasted 
youth  ;  but  often,  contrary  to  my  intention,  by  some  simple 
elegiac  word,  I  made  her  still  eye  wet ;  for  the  too  full 
heart,  which  had  been  crushed  with  other  than  sentimental 
woes,  overflowed  at  the  smallest  pressure.  A  hundred  times 
in  the  recital  I  was  on  the  point  of  saying  :  "  0  yes,  it  was 
with  winter  that  your  life  began,  and  the  course  of  it  has 
resembled  winter!"  —  Windless,  cloudless  day!  Three 
more  words  about  thee  the  world  will  still  not  take  amiss 
from  me  ! 

I  advanced  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  heart-central-fire  of 
the  woman  ;  and  at  last  they  mildly  broke  forth   in  censure 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    F1XLEIN.  343 

of  the  Parson  ;  the  best  wives  will  complain  of  their  hus- 
bands to  a  stranger,  without  in  the  smallest  liking  them  the 
lesson  that  account.  The  mother  and  the  wife,  during  dinner, 
accused  him  of  buying  lots  at  every  book-auction  ;  and,  in 
truth,  in  such  places,  he  does  strive  and  bid,  not  so  much 
for  good  or  for  bad  books —  or  old  ones  —  or  new  ones  — 
or  such  as  he  likes  to  read  —  or  any  sort  of  favorite  books — 
but  simply  for  books.  The  mother  blamed  especially  his 
squandering  so  much  on  copperplates  ;  yet  some  hours  after, 
when  the  Schultheis,  or  Mayor,  who  wrote  a  beautiful  hand, 
came  in  to  subscribe  for  the  steeple-ball,  she  pointed  out  to 
him  how  finely  her  son  could  engrave,  and  said  that  it  was 
well  worth  while  to  spend  a  groschen  or  two  on  such  cap- 
itals as  these. 

They  then  handed  me  —  for  when  once  women  are  in 
the  way  of  a  full,  open-hearted  effusion,  they  like  (only  you 
must  not  turn  the  stop-cock  of  inquiry)  to  pour  out  the  whole 
—  a  ring-case,  in  which  he  kept  a  Chamberlain's  key  that 
he  had  found,  and  asked  me  if  I  knew  who  had  lost  it. 
Who  could  know  such  a  thing,  when  there  are  almost  more 
Chamberlains  than  picklocks  among  us  ?  — 

At  last  I  took  heart,  and  asked  after  the  little  toy-press  of 
the  drowned  son,  which  hitherto  I  had  sought  for  in  vain 
overall  the  house.  Fixlein  himself  had  inquired  for  it,  with 
as  little  success.  Thiennette  gave  the  old  mother  a  per- 
suading look  full  of  love;  and  the  latter  led  me  up  stairs 
to  an  outstretched  hoop-petticoat,  covering  the  poor  press  as 
with  a  dome.  On  the  way  thither,  the  mother  told  me  she 
kept  it  hid  from  her  son  because  the  recollection  of  his 
brother  would  pain  him.  When  this  deposit-chest  of  Time 
(the  lock  had  fallen  off)  was  laid  open  to  me,  and  I  had 
looked  into  the  little  charnel-house,  with  its  wrecks  of  a 
childlike,  sportful  Past,  I,  without  saying  a  word,  determined, 
some  time  ere  I  went  away,  to   unpack  these   playthings  of 


344  RICHTER. 

the  lost  boy  before  his  surviving  brother.  Can  there  be 
aught  finer  than  to  look  at  these  ash-buried,  deep-sunk,  Her- 
culanean  ruins  of  childhood,  now  dug  up  and  in  the  open 
air  ? 

Thiennette  sent  twice  to  ask  me  whether  he  was  come. 
He  and  she,  precisely  because  they  do  not  give  their  love 
the  weakening  expression  of  phrases,  but  the  strengthening 
one  of  actions,  have  a  boundless  feeling  of  it  towards  one 
another.  Some  wedded  pairs  eat  each  other's  lips  and 
hearts  and  love  away  by  kisses  ;  as  in  Rome,  the  statues  of 
Christ  (by  Angelo)  have  lost  their  feet  by  the  same  process 
of  kissing,  and  got  leaden  ones  instead  ;  in  other  couples, 
again,  you  may  see,  by  mere  inspection,  the  number  of  their 
conflagrations  and  eruptions,  as  in  Vesuvius  you  can  discover 
his,  of  which  there  are  now  forty-three  ;  but  in  these  two 
beings  rose  the  Greek  fire  of  a  moderate  and  everlasting 
love,  and  gave  warmth  without  casting  forth  sparks,  and 
flamed  straight  up  without  crackling.  The  evening-red  is 
flowing  back  more  magically  from  the  windows  of  the 
gardener's  cottage  into  my  grove  ;  and  I  feel  as  if  I  must 
say  to  Destiny  :  "  Hast  thou  a  sharp  sorrow,  then  throw  it 
rather  into  my  breast,  and  strike  not  with  it  three  good  souls, 
who  are  too  happy  not  to  bleed  by  it,  and  too  sequestered 
in  their  little  dim  village  not  to  shrink  back  at  the  thunder- 
bolt which  hurries  a  stricken  spirit  from  its  earthly  dwell- 
ing." 

Thou  good  Fixlein  !  Here  comes  he  hurrying  over  the 
parsonage-green.  What  languishing  looks  full  of  love 
already  rest  in  the  eye  of  thy  Thiennette !  —  What  news 
wilt  thou  bring  us  to-night  from  the  town !  —  How  will  the 
ascending  steeple-ball  refresh  thy  soul  to-morrow  !  — 


LIFE    OF    QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  345 

TWELFTH  LETTER-BOX. 

Steeple-hall- Ascension.     The  Toy-press. 

How,  on  this  sixteenth  of  May,  the  old  steeple-ball  was 
twisted  off  from  the  Hukelum  steeple,  and  a  new  one  put 
on  in  its  stead,  will  I  now  describe  to  my  best  ability;  but 
in  that  simple  historical  style  of  the  Ancients,  which,  for 
great  events,  is  perhaps  the  most  suitable. 

At  a  very  early  hour,  a  coach  arrived  containing  Messrs. 
Court-Guilder  Zeddel  and  Locksmith  Wachser,  and  the  new 
Peter's-cupola  of  the  steeple.  Towards  eight  o'clock  the 
community,  consisting  of  subscribers  to  the  Globe,  was  vis- 
ibly collecting.  A  little  later  came  the  Lord  Dragoon  Ritt- 
meister  von  A uf hammer,  as  Patron  of  the  church  and 
steeple,  attended  by  Mr.  Church-Inspector  Streichert.  Here- 
upon my  Reverend  Cousin  Fixlein  and  I  repaired,  with  the 
other  persons  whom  I  have  already  named,  into  the  Church, 
and  there  celebrated,  before  innumerable  hearers,  a  weekday 
prayer-service.  Directly  afterwards,  my  Reverend  Friend 
made  his  appearance  above  in  the  pulpit,  and  endeavored  to 
deliver  a  speech  which  might  correspond  to  the  solemn  trans- 
action ;  —  and  immediately  thereafter,  he  read  aloud  the 
names  of  the  patrons  and  charitable  souls,  by  whose  dona- 
tions the  Ball  had  been  put  together  ;  and  showed  to  the 
congregation  the  leaden  box  in  which  they  were  specially 
recorded  ;  observing,  that  the  book  from  which  he  had  re- 
cited them  was  to  be  reposited  in  the  Parish  Register-office. 
Next  he  held  it  necessary  to  thank  them  and  God,  that  he, 
above  his  deserts,  had  been  chosen  as  the  instrument  and 
undertaker  of  such  a  work.  The  whole  he  concluded  with 
a  short  prayer  for  Mr.  Stechmann  the  Slater  (who  was 
already  hanging  on  the  outside  on  the  steeple,  and  loosening 


546  R1CHTER. 

the  old  shaft)  ;  and  entreated  that  he  might  not  break  his 
neck,  or  any  of  his  members.  A  short  hymn  was  then 
sung,  which  the  most  of  those  assembled  without  the  church- 
doors  sang  along  with  us,  looking  up  at  the  same  time  to 
the  steeple. 

All  of  us  now  proceeded  out  likewise  ;  and  the  discarded 
ball,  as  it  were  the  amputated  cock's-comb  of  the  church, 
was  lowered  down  and  untied.  Church-Inspector  Streichert 
drew  a  leaden  case  from  the  crumbling  ball,  which  my  Rev- 
erend Friend  put  into  his  pocket,  purposing  to  read  it  at  his 
convenience  ;  I,  however,  said  to  some  peasants  :  "  See, 
thus  will  your  names  also  be  preserved  in  the  new  Ball,  and 
when  after  long  years  it  shall  be  taken  down,  the  box  lies 
within  it,  and  the  then  parson  becomes  acquainted  with  you 
all."  —  And  now  was  the  new  steeple-globe,  with  the  leaden 
cup  in  which  lay  the  names  of  the  bystanders,  at  length  full- 
laden,  so  to  speak,  and  saturated,  and  fixed  to  the  pulley- 
rope ; —  and  so  did  this  the  whilom  cupping-glass  of  the 
community  ascend  aloft 

By  Heaven !  the  unadorned  style  is  here  a  thing  beyond 
my  power:  for  when  the  Ball  moved,  swung,  mounted,  there 
rose  a  drumming  in  the  centre  of  the  steeple ;  and  the 
Schoolmaster,  who,  till  now,  had  looked  down  through  a 
sounding-hole  directed  towards  the  congregation,  now  stept 
out  with  a  trumpet  at  a  side  sounding-hole,  which  the  mount- 
ing Ball  was  not  to  cross. — But  when  the  whole  Church 
rung  and  pealed,  the  nearer  the  capital  approached  its 
crown,  —  and  when  the  Slater  clutched  it  and  turned  it 
round,  and  happily  incorporated  the  spike  of  it,  and  deliver- 
ed down,  between  Heaven  and  Earth,  and  leaning  on  the 
Ball,  a  Topstone-speech  to  this  and  all  of  us,  —  and  when 
my  gossip's  eyes,  in  his  rapture  at  being  Parson  on  this 
great  day,  were  running  over,  and  the  tears  trickling  down 
his  priestly  garment ;  —  I  believe,  I   was  the  only  man  —  as 


LIFE    OF     OJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  347 

his  mother  was  the  only  woman  —  whose  souls  a  common 
grief  laid  hold  of  to  press  them  even  to  bleeding ;  for  I 
and  the  mother  had  yesternight,  as  I  shall  tell  more  largely 
afterwards,  discovered  in  the  little  chest  of  the  drowned  boy, 
from  a  memorial  in  his  father's  hand,  that,  on  the  day  after 
the  morrow,  on  Cantata-Sunday  and  his  baptismal-Sunday, 
he  would  be  —  two-and-thirty  years  of  age.  "  Oh  !  " 
thought  I,  while  I  looked  at  the  blue  heaven,  the  green 
graves,  the  glittering  ball,  the  weeping  priest,  "  so,  at  all 
times,  stands  poor  man  with  bandaged  eyes  before  thy  sharp 
sword,  incomprehensible  Destiny  !  And  when  thou  drawest 
it  and  brandishest  it  aloft,  he  listens  with  pleasure  to  the 
whizzing  of  the  stroke  before  it  falls  !  "  — 

Last  night  I  was  aware  of  it ;  but  to  the  reader,  whom  I 
was  preparing  for  it  afar  off,  I  would  tell  nothing  of  the 
mournful  news,  that,  in  the  press  of  the  dead  brother,  I  had 
found  an  old  Bible  which  the  boys  had  used  at  school,  with 
a  white  blank  leaf  in  it,  on  which  the  father  had  written 
down  the  dates  of  his  children's  oirth.  And  even  this  it 
was  that  raised  in  thee,  thou  poor  mother,  the  shade  of  sor- 
row which  of  late  we  have  been  attributing  to  smaller 
causes;  and  thy  heart  was  still  standing  amid  the  rain,  which 
seemed  to  us  already  past  over  and  changed  into  a  rain- 
bow! —  Out  of  love  to  him,  she  had  yearly  told  one  false- 
hood, and  concealed  his  age.  By  extreme  good  luck,  he 
had  not  been  present  when  the  press  was  opened.  I  still 
purpose,  after  this  fatal  Sunday,  to  surprise  him  with  the 
party-colored  reliques  of  his  childhood,  and  so  of  these  old 
Christmas-presents  to  make  him  new  ones.  In  the  mean 
while,  if  I  and  his  mother  can  but  follow  him  incessantly, 
like  fishhook- floats,  and  foot  clogs,  through  to-morrow  and 
next  day,  that  no  murderous  accident  lift  aside  the  curtain 
from  his  birth-certificate, —  all  may  yet  be  well.  For  now, 
in  truth,  to   his  eyes,  this   birth-day,  in  the    metamorphotic 


348 


RICHTER. 


mirror  of  his  superstitious  imagination,  and  behind  the 
magnifying  magic  vapor  of  his  present  joys,  would  burn 
forth  like  a  red  death-warrant.  ...  But  besides  all  this,  the 
leaf  of  the  Bible  is  now  sitting  higher  than  any  of  us, 
namely,  in  the  new  steeple-ball,  into  which  I  this  morning 
prudently  introduced  it.  Properly  speaking  there  is  indeed 
no  danger. 


THIRTEENTH   LETTER-BOX. 
Christening. 

To-day  is  that  stupid  Cantata-Sunday;  but  nothing  now 
remains  of  it  save  an   hour.  —  By  Heaven!  in  right  spirits 
were  we  all  to-day.     I  believe   I  have   drunk  as  faithfully 
as  another.  —  In  truth,  one  should  be  moderate  in  all  things, 
in  writing,  in  drinking,  in  rejoicing;  and  as   we  lay  straws 
into  the   honey  for  our  bees   that  they  may  not   drown   in 
their  sugar,  so  ought  one   at   all  times   to  lay  a  few  firm 
Principles   and  twigs  from  the  tree  of  Knowledge  into  the 
Syrup  of  life,  instead  of  those  same  bee-straws,  that  so  one 
may  cling  thereto,  and  not   drown  like  a  rat.     But  now  I 
do  purpose  in  earnest  to  —  write  (and  also  live)  with  stead- 
fastness ;  and   therefore,  that  I  may   record    the   christening 
ceremony   with   greater   coolness,  —  to   besprinkle    my  fire 
with   the   night-air,  and   to   roam  out  for  an   hour  into  the 
blossom-and- wave-embroidered    night,    where    a    lukewarm 
breath  of  air,  intoxicated    with   soft   odors,  is  sinking  down 
from  the  blossom-peaks  to  the  low-bent  flowers,  and  roaming 
over   the    meadows,  and   at  last  launching  on  a  wave,  and 
with   it  sailing  down    the    moonshiny   brook.      O,   without, 
under  the  stars,  under  the  tones  of  the   nightingale,  which 
seem  to  reverberate,  not  from  the  echo,  but  from  the  far-off 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  349 

down-glancing  worlds ;  beside  that  moon,  which  the  gushing 
brook,  in  its  flickering,  watery  band,  is  carrying  away,  and 
which  creeps  under  the  little  shadows  of  the  bank  as  under 
clouds  —  O,  amid  such  forms  and  tones,  the  heart  of  man 
grows  serious  ;  and  as  of  old  an  evening  bell  was  rung  to 
direct  the  wanderer  through  the  deep  forests  to  his  nightly 
home,  so  in  our  Night  are  such  voices  within  us  and  about 
us,  which  call  to  us  in  our  strayings,  and  make  us  calmer, 
and   teach  us  to  moderate   our   own  joys,  and  to  conceive 

those  of  others. 

#         #         # 

I  return,  peaceful  and  cool  enough,  to  my  narrative.  All 
yesternight  I  left  not  the  worthy  Parson  half  an  hour  from 
my  sight,  to  guard  him  from  poisoning  the  well  of  his  life. 
Full  of  paternal  joy,  and  with  the  skeleton  of  the  sermon 
(he  was  committing  it  to  memory)  in  his  hand,  he  set  before 
me  all  that  he  had  ;  and  pointed  out  to  me  the  fruit-baskets 
of  pleasures  which  Cantata-Sunday  always  plucked  and 
filled  for  him.  He  recounted  to  me,  as  I  did  not  go  away, 
his  baptisms,  his  accidents  of  office  ;  told  me  of  his  rela- 
tives ;  and  removed  my  uncertainty  with  regard  to  the 
public  revenues  —  of  his  parish,  to  the  number  of  his  com- 
municants and  expected  catechumens.  At  this  point,  how- 
ever, I  am  afraid  that  many  a  reader  will  in  vain  endeavor 
to  transport  himself  into  my  situation,  and  still  be  unable 
to   discover   why  I  said  to  Fixlein  :   "  Worthy  gossip,  better 

no  man  could  wish  himself."     I  lied  not,  for  so  it  is 

But  look  in  the  Note.* 

At  last  rose  the  Sunday,  the  present ;  and  on  this  holy 


*  A  long  philosophical  elucidation  is  indispensably  requisite  ; 
which  will  be  found  in  this  Book,  under  the  title  :  Natural  Magic 
of  the  Imagination.  [A  part  of  the  Jus  de  Tablette  appended  to  this 
Biography,  unconnected  with  it,  and  not  given  here.  —  Ed.] 

VOL.  II.  30 


350  RICHTER. 

day,  simply  because  my  little  godson  was  for  going  over  to 
Christianity,  there  was  a  vast  racket  made  ;  every  time  a 
conversion  happens,  especially  of  nations,  there  is  an  up- 
roaring  and  a  shooting  ;  I  refer  to  the  two  Thirty  Years' 
Wars,  to  the  more  recent  one,  and  to  the  earlier,  which 
Charlemagne  so  long  carried  on  with  the  heathen  Saxons  ; 
thus,  in  the  Palais  Royal,  the  Sun,  at  his  transit  over  the 
meridian,  fires  off  a  cannon.*  But  this  morning  the  little 
Unchristian,  my  godson,  was  precisely  the  person  least 
attended  to;  for,  in  thinking  of  the  conversion,  they  had  no 
time  left  to  think  of  the  convert.  Therefore  I  strolled  about 
with  him  myself  half  the  forenoon  ;  and,  in  our  walk, 
hastily  conferred  on  him  a  private-baptism  ;  having  named 
him  Jean  Paul  before  the  priest  did  so.  At  midday,  we 
sent  the  beef  away  as  it  had  come  ;  the  Sun  of  happiness 
having  desiccated  all  our  gastric  juices.  We  now  began  to 
look  about  us  for  pomp ;  I  for  scientific  decorations  of  my 
hair,  my  godson  for  his  christening-shirt,  and  his  mother 
for  her  dress-cap.  Yet  before  the  child's-rattle  of  the 
christening-bell  had  been  jingled,  I  and  the  midwife,  in  front 
of  the  mother's  bed,  instituted  Physiognomical  Travels  f  on 
the  countenance  of  the  small  Unchristian,  and  returned  with 
the  discovery,  that  some  features  had  been  embossed  by  the 
pattern  of  the  mother,  and  many  firm  portions  resembled 
me ;  a  double  similarity,  in  which  my  readers  can  take 
little  interest.  Jean  Paul  looks  very  sensible  for  his  years, 
or  rather  for  his  minutes,  for  it  is  the  small  one  I  am  speak- 
ing of. 

*  This  pigmy  piece  of  ordinance,  with  its  cunningly  devised 
burning-glass,  is  still  to  be  seen  on  the  south  side  of  the  Paris 
Vanity-Fair  ;  and  in  fine  weather,  to  be  heard,  on  all  sides  thereof, 
proclaiming  the  conversion  (so  it  seems  to  Richter)  of  ihe  Day  from 
Forenoon  to  Afternoon.  —  Ed. 

t  See  §  Musaus,  in  vol.  I.  of  this  Collection.  — Ed. 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  351 

But  now  I  would  ask,  what  German  writer  durst  take  it 
upon  him  to  spread  out  and  paint  a  large  historic  sheet, 
representing  the  whole  of  us  as  we  went  to  church  ?  Would 
he  not  require  to  draw  the  father,  with  swelling  canonicals, 
moving  forward  slowly,  devoutly,  and  full  of  emotion? 
Would  he  not  have  to  sketch  the  godfather,  minded  this  day 
to  lend  out  his  names,  which  he  derived  from  two  Apostles 
(John  and  Paul),  as  Julius  Caesar  lent  out  his  names  to  two 
things  still  living  even  now  (to  a  month,  and  a  throne)  ?  — 
And  must  he  not  put  the  godson  on  his  sheet,  with  whom 
even  the  Emperor  Joseph  (in  his  need  of  nurse-milk)  might 
become  a  foster-brother,  in  his  old  days,  if  he  were  still  in 
them  ?  — 

In  my  chamber,  I  have  a  hundred  times  determined  to 
smile  at  solemnities,  in  the  midst  of  which  I  afterwards, 
while  assisting  at  them,  involuntarily  wore  a  petrified  coun- 
tenance, full  of  dignity  and  seriousness.  For,  as  the 
Schoolmaster,  just  before  the  baptism,  began  to  sound  the 
organ — an  honor  never  paid  to  any  other  child  in  Hukelum, 

—  and  when  I  saw  the  wooden  christening-angel,  like  an 
alighted  Genius,  with  his  painted  timber  arm  spread  out 
under  the  baptismal  ewer,  and  I  myself  came  to  stand  close 
by  him,  under  his  gilt  wing,  I  protest  the  blood  went  slow 
and  solemn,  warm  and  close,  through  my  pulsing  head, 
and  my  lungs  full  of  sighs;  and,  to  the  silent  darling  lying 
in  my  arms,  whose  unripe  eyes  Nature  yet  held  closed 
from  the  full  perspective  of  the  Earth,  I  wished,  with  more 
sadness  than  I  do  to  myself,  for  his  Future  also  as  soft  a 
sleep  as  to-day  ;  and  as  good  an  angel  as  to-day,  buta  more 
living  one,  to  guide  him  into  a  more  living  religion,  and, 
with  invisible  hand,  conduct  him  unlost  through  the  forest 
of  Life,  through   its  falling  trees,  and   Wild   Hunters,*  and 

*  The  Wild  Hunter,  Wilde  Jdger,  is  a  popular  spectre  of  Germany. 

—  Ed. 


352 


RICHTER. 


all  its  storms  and  perils Will  the    world   not  excuse 

me,  if  when,  by  a  side-glance,  I  saw  on  the  paternal  coun- 
tenance prayers  for  the  son,  and  tears  of  joy  trickling  down 
into  the  prayer;  and  when  I  noticed  on  the  countenance  of 
the  grandmother  far  darker  and  fast-hidden  drops,  which 
she  could  not  restrain,  while  I,  in  answer  to  the  ancient 
question,  engaged  to  provide  for  the  child  if  its  parents  died, 

—  am  I  not  to  be  excused  if  I  then  cast  my  eyes  deep  down 
on   my   little   godson,   merely   to   hide  their  running  over  ? 

—  For  I  remembered  that  his  father  might  perhaps  this  very 
day  grow  pale  and  cold  before  a  suddenly  arising  mask  of 
Death ;  I  thought  how  the  poor  little  one  had  only  changed 
his  bent  posture  in  the  womb  with  a  freer  one,  to  bend  and 
cramp  himself  ere  long  more  harshly  in  the  strait  arena  of 
life  ;  1  thought  of  his  inevitable  follies,  and  errors,  and  sins  ; 
of  these  soiled  steps  to  the  Grecian  Temple  of  our  Perfec- 
tion ;  I  thought  that  one  day  his  own  fire  of  genius  might 
reduce  himself  to  ashes,  as  a  man  that  is  electrified  can  kill 

himself  with   his    own   lightning All    the   theological 

wishes,  which,  on  the  godson-billet  printed  over  with  them, 
I    placed   in    his  young  bosom,   were  glowing    written    in 

mine But  the   white    feathered-pink   of    my  joy   had 

then,  as  it  always  has,  a  bloody  point  within  it,  —  I  again, 
as  it  always  is,  went  to  nest,  like  a  woodpecker,  in  a 
skull And  as  I  am  doing  so  even  now,  let  the  describ- 
ing of  the  baptism  be  over  for  to-day,  and  proceed  again 
to-morrow 


FOURTEENTH    LETTER-BOX. 

Oh,  so  is  it  ever  !  So  does  Fate  set  fire  to  the  theatre  of 
our  little  plays,  and  our  bright-painted  curtain  of  Futurity  ! 
So  does  the  Serpent  of  Eternity  wind  round  us  and  our  joys, 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN. 


353 


and  crush,  Jike  the  royal-snake,  what  it  does  not  poison ! 
Thou  good  Fixlein  !  —  Ah  !  last  night,  I  little  thought  that 
thou,  mild  soul,  while  I  was  writing  beside  thee,  wert 
already  journeying  into  the  poisonous  Earth-shadow  of 
Death. 

Last  night,  late  as  it  was,  he  opened  the  lead  box  found 
in  the  old  steeple-ball ;  a  catalogue  of  those  who  had  sub- 
scribed to  the  last  repairing  of  the  church  was  there  ;  and  he 
began  to  read  it  now  ;  my  presence  and  his  occupations 
having  prevented  him  before.  O,  how  shall  I  tell  that  the 
record  of  his  birth-year,  which  I  had  hidden  in  the  new 
Ball,  was  waiting  for  him  in  the  old  one?  that  in  the 
register  of  contributions  he  found  his  father's  name,  with  the 
appendage,  u  given  for  his  new-born  son  Egidius  "  ?  — 

This  stroke  sunk  deep  into  his  bosom,  even  to  the  rending 
of  it  asunder;  in  this  warm  hour,  full  of  paternal  joy,  after 
such  fair  days,  after  such  fair  employments,  after  dread  of 
death  so  often  survived,  here,  in  the  bright,  smooth  sea, 
which  is  rocking  and  bearing  him  along,  starts  snorting, 
from  the  bottomless  abyss,  the  sea-monster  Death  ;  and  the 
monster's  throat  yawns  wide,  and  the  silent  sea  rushes  into 
it  in  whirlpools,  and  hurries  him  along  with  it. 

But  the  patient  man,  quietly  and  slowly,  and  with  a  heart 
silent,  though  deadly  cold,  laid  the  leaves  together ;  — 
looked  softly  and  firmly  over  the  churchyard,  where,  in  the 
moonshine,  the  grave  of  his  father  was  to  be  distinguished  ; 
—  gazed  timidly  up  to  the  sky,  full  of  stars,  which  a  white 
overarching  laureltree  half  screened  from  his  sight ;  —  and 
though  he  longed  to  be  in  bed,  to  settle  there  and  sleep  it 
off,  yet  he  paused  at  the  window  to  pray  for  his  wife  and 
child,  in  case  this  night  were  his  last. 

At  this  moment  the  steeple-clock  struck  twelve ;  but,  from 
the  breaking  of  a  pin,   the  weights   kept  rolling  down,  and 
the  clock-hammer  struck  without  stopping — and  he  heard 
30* 


354 


RICHTER. 


with  horror  the  chains  and  wheels  rattling  along  •  and  he 
felt  as  if  Death  were  hurling  forth  in  a  heap  all  the  longer 
hours  which  he  might  yet  have  had  to  live  —  and  now,  to  his 
eyes,  the  churchyard  began  to  quiver  and  heave,  the  moon- 
light flickered  on  the  church-windows,  and  in  the  church 
there  were  lights  flitting  to  and  fro,  and  in  the  charnel-house 
there  was  a  motion  and  a  tumult. 

His  heart  fainted  within  him,  and  he  threw  himself  into 
bed,  and  closed  his  eyes  that  he  might  not  see  ;  —  but 
Imagination  in  the  gloom  now  blew  aloft  the  dust  of  the 
dead,  and  whirled  it  into  giant  shapes,  and  chased  these 
hollow,  fever-born  masks  alternately  into  lightning  and 
shadow.  Then  at  last  from  transparent  thoughts  grew 
colored  visions,  and  he  dreamed  this  dream.  He  was  stand- 
ing at  the  window  looking  out  into  the  church-yard  ;  and 
Death,  in  size  as  a  scorpion,  was  creeping  over  it,  and  seek- 
ing for  his  bones.  Death  found  some  arm-bones  and  thigh- 
bones on  the  graves,  and  said:  "  They  are  my  bones;" 
and  he  took  a  spine  and  the  bone-legs,  and  stood  with  them, 
and  the  two  arm-bones  and  clutched  with  them,  and  found 
on  the  grave  of  Fixlein's  father  a  skull,  and  put  it  on. 
Then  he  lifted  a  scythe  beside  the  little  flower-garden,  and 
cried:  "  Fixlein,  where  art  thou?  My  finger  is  an  icicle 
and  no  finger,  and  I  will  tap  on  thy  heart  with  it."  The 
Skeleton,  thus  piled  together,  now  looked  for  him  who  was 
standing  at  the  window,  and  powerless  to  stir  from  it;  and 
carried  in  the  one  hand,  instead  of  a  sand-glass,  the  ever- 
striking  steeple-clock,  and   held  out  the  finger  of  ice,  like  a 

dagger,  far  into  the  air 

Then  he  saw  his  victim  above  at  the  window,  and  raised 
himself  as  high  as  the  laureltree  to  stab  straight  into  his 
bosom  with  the  finger,  —  and  stalked  towards  him.  But  as 
he  came  nearer,  his  pale  bones  grew  redder,  and  vapors 
floated  woolly  round  his  haggard  form.     Flowers  started  up 


LIFE     OF     OJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  355 

from  the  ground ;  and  he  stood  transfigured  and  without  the 
clamm  of  the  grave,  hovering  above  them,  and  the  balm- 
breath  from  the  flower-cups  wafted  him  gently  on  ;  —  and 
as  he  came  nearer,  the  scythe  and  clock  were  gone,  and  in 
his  bony  breast  he  had  a  heart,  and  on  his  bony  head  red 
lips  ;  —  and  nearer  still,  there  gathered  on  him  soft,  trans- 
parent, rosebalm-dipt  flesh,  like  the  splendor  of  an  Angel 
flying  hither  from  the  starry  blue  ;  —  and  close  at  hand,  he 
was  an  Angel  with  shut  snow-white  eyelids 

The  heart  of  my  friend,  quivering  like  a  Harmonica-bell, 
now  melted  in  bliss  in  his  clear  bosom  ;  —  and  when 
the  Angel  opened  its  eyes,  his  were  pressed  together 
by  the  weight  of  celestial  rapture,  and  his  dream  fled 
away. 

But  not  his  life  ;  he  opened  his  hot  eyes,  and —  his  good 
wife  had  hold  of  his  feverish  hand,  and  was  standing  in 
room  of  the  Angel. 

The  fever  abated  towards  morning  ;  but  the  certainty  of 
dying  still  throbbed  in  every  artery  of  the  hapless  man. 
He  called  for  his  fair  little  infant  into  his  sick-bed,  and 
pressed  it  silently,  though  it  began  to  cry,  too  hard  against 
his  paternal,  heavy-laden  breast.  Then  towards  noon  his 
soul  became  cool,  and  the  sultry  thunder-clouds  within  it 
drew  back.  And  here  he  described  to  us  the  previous 
(as  it  were,  arsenical)  fantasies  of  his  usually  quiet  head. 
But  it  is  even  those  tense  nerves,  which  have  not  quivered 
at  the  touch  of  a  poetic  hand  striking  them  to  melody  of 
sorrow,  that  start  and  fly  asunder  more  easily  under  the 
fierce  hand  of  Fate,  when  with  sweeping  stroke  it  smites 
into  discord  the  firmset  strings. 

But  towards  night  his  ideas  again  began  rushing  in  a 
torch-dance,  like  fire-pillars  round  his  soul  ;  every  artery 
became  a  burning-rod,  and  the  heart  drove  flaming  naphtha- 
brooks  into  the  brain.     All  within  his  soul  grew  bloody  ;  the 


356  R1CHTER. 

blood  of  his  drowned  brother  united  itself  with  the  blood 
which  had  once  flowed  from  Thiermette's  arm,  into  a  bloody- 
rain  ;  —  he  still  thought  he  was  in  the  garden  in  the  night  of 
betrothment,  he  still  kept  calling  for  bandages  to  staunch 
blood,  and  was  for  hiding  his  head  in  the  ball  of  the  steeple. 
Nothing  afflicts  one  more  than  to  see  a  reasonable,  moderate 
man,  who  has  been  so  even  in  his  passions,  raving  in  the 
poetic  madness  of  fever.  And  yet  if  nothing  save  this 
mouldering  corruption  can  soothe  the  hot  brain  ;  and  if, 
while  the  reek  and  thick  vapor  of  a  boiling  nervous-spirit 
and  the  hissing  water-spouts  of  the  veins  are  encircling  and 
eclipsing  the  stifled  soul,  a  higher  Finger  presses  through 
the  cloud,  and  suddenly  lifts  the  poor  bewildered  spirit  from 
amid  the  smoke  to  a  sun  —  is  it  more  just  to  complain,  than 
to  reflect  that  Fate  is  like  the  oculist,  who,  when  about  to 
open  to  a  blind  eye  the  world  of  light,  first  bandages  and 
darkens  the  other  eye  that  sees  ? 

But  the  sorrow  does  affect  me,  which  I  read  on  Thien- 
nette's  pale  lips,  though  do  not  hear.  It  is  not  the  distor- 
tion of  an  excruciating  agony,  nor  the  burning  of  a  dried- 
up  eye,  nor  the  loud  lamenting  or  violent  movement  of  a  tor- 
tured frame  that  I  see  in  her ;  but  what  I  am  forced  to  see  in 
her,  and  what  too  keenly  cuts  the  sympathizing  heart,  is  a 
pale,  still,  unmoved,  undistorted  face,  a  pale,  bloodless  head, 
which  Sorrow  is  as  it  were  holding  up  after  the  stroke,  like 
a  head  just  severed  by  the  axe  of  the  headsman  ;  for  Oh ! 
on  this  form  the  wounds,  from  which  the  three-edged  dagger 
had  been  drawn,  are  all  fallen  firmly  together,  and  the 
blood  is  flowing  from  them  in  secret  into  the  choking  heart. 
O  Thiennette,  go  away  from  the  sick-bed,  and  hide  that 
face  which  is  saying  io  us:  "  Now  do  I  know  that  I  shall 
not  have  any  happiness  on  Earth  ;  now  do  I  give  over 
hoping —  would  this  life  were  but  soon  done." 

You  will  not  comprehend  my  sympathy,  if  you  know  not 


LIFE    OF    QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  357 

what,  some  hours  ago,  the  too  loud  lamenting  mother  told 
me.  Thiennette,  who  of  old  had  always  trembled  for  his 
thirty-second  year,  had  encountered  this  superstition  with  a 
nobler  one  ;  she  had  purposely  stood  farther  back  at  the 
marriage-altar,  and  in  the  bridal-night  fallen  sooner  asleep 
than  he;  thereby — as  is  the  popular  belief  —  so  to  order 
it  that  she  might  also  die  sooner.  Nay,  she  has  determined, 
if  he  die,  to  lay  with  his  corpse  a  piece  of  her  apparel,  that 
so  she  may  descend  the  sooner  to  keep  him  company  in  his 
narrow  house.  Thou  good,  thou  faithful  wife,  but  thou  un- 
happy one  !  — 


CHAPTER   LAST. 

I  have  left  Hukelum,  and  my  gossip  his  bed  ;  and  the 
one  is  as  sound  as  the  other.  The  cure  was  as  foolish  as 
the  malady. 

It  first  occurred  to  me,  that,  as  Boerhaave  used  to  remedy 
convulsions  by  convulsions,  one  fancy  might  in  my  gossip's 
case  be  remedied  by  another  ;  namely,  by  the  fancy  that  he 
was  yet  no  man  of  thirty-two,  but  only  a  man  of  six  or 
nine.  Deliriums  are  dreams  not  encircled  by  sleep  ;  and 
all  dreams  transport  us  back  into  youth,  why  not  deliriums 
too  ?  I  accordingly  directed  every  one  to  leave  the  patient; 
only  his  mother,  while  the  fiercest  meteors  were  darting 
hissing  before  his  fevered  soul,  was  to  sit  down  by  him 
alone,  and  speak  to  him  as  if  he  were  a  child  of  eight 
years.  The  bed-mirror  also  I  directed  her  to  cover.  She 
did  so;  she  spoke  to  him  as  if  he  had  the  small-pox  fever  ; 
and  when  he  cried  :  "  Death  is  standing  with  two-and-thirty 
pointed  teeth  before  me,  to  eat  my  heart,"  she  said  to  him  : 
"  Little  dear,  I  will  give  thee  thy  roller-hat,  and  thy  copy- 
book, and  thy  case,  and  thy  hussar-cloak  again,   and   more 


358 


R1CHTER. 


too  if  thou  wilt  be  good."  A  reasonable  speech  he  would 
have  taken  up  and  heeded  much  less  than  he  did  this  foolish 
one. 

At  last  she  said  — for  to  women  in  the  depth  of  sorrow 
dissimulation  becomes  easy  :  "  Well,  I  will  try  it  this  once, 
and  give  thee  thy  playthings  :  but  do  the  like  again,  thou 
rogue,  and  roil  thyself  about  in  the  bed  so,  with  the  small- 
pox on  thee  ! "  And  with  this,  from  her  full  apron  she 
shook  out  on  the  bed  the  whole  stock  of  playthings  and 
dressing-ware,  which  I  had  found  in  the  press  of  the  drown- 
ed brother.  First  of  all  his  copy-book,  where  Egidius  in 
his  eighth  year  had  put  down  his  name,  which  he  necessa- 
rily recognized  as  his  own  hand-writing  ;  then  the  black 
velvet  fall-hat  or  roller-cap  ;  then  the  red  and  white  lead- 
ing-strings ;  his  knife-case,  with  a  little  pamphlet  of  tin 
leaves;  his  green  hussar-cloak,  with  its  stiff  facings  ;  and  a 
whole  orbis  pictus  or  Jictus  of  Niirnberg  puppets 

The  sick  man  recognized  in  a  moment  these  projecting 
peaks  of  a  spring-world  sunk  in  the  stream  of  Time,  — 
these  half  shadows,  this  dusk  of  down-gone  days,  —  this 
conflagration-place  and  Golgotha  of  a  heavenly  time,  which 
none  of  us  forgets,  which  we  love  forever,  and  look  back  to 
even  from  the  grave.  .  .  .  And  when  he  saw  all  this,  he 
slowly  turned  round  his  head,  as  if  he  were  awakening  from 
a  long,  heavy  dream  ;  and  his  whole  heart  flowed  down  in 
warm  showers  of  tears,  and  he  said,  fixing  his  full  eyes  on 
the  eyes  of  his  mother :  "  But  are  my  father  and  brother 
still  living  then  ?  "  — "  They  are  dead  lately,1'  said  the 
wounded  mother  ;  but  her  heart  was  overpowered,  and  she 
turned  away  her  eyes,  and  bitter  tears  fell  unseen  from  her 
down-bent  head.  And  now  at  once  that  evening,  when  he 
lay  confined  to  bed  by  the  death  of  his  father,  and  was 
cured  by  his  playthings,  overflowed  his  soul  with  splendor 
and  lights,  and  presence  of  the  Past. 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  359 

And  so  Delirium  dyed  for  itself  rosy  wings  in  the  Aurora 
of  life,  and  fanned  the  panting  soul,  —  and  shook  down 
golden  butterfly-dust  from  its  plumage  on  the  path,  on  the 
flowerage  of  the  suffering  man  ;  —  in  the  far  distance  rose 
lovely  tones,  in  the  distance  floated  lovely  clouds  —  O  his 
heart  was  like  to  fall  in  pieces,  but  only  into  fluttering  flower- 
stamina,  into  soft  sentient  nerves  ;  his  eyes  were  like  to 
melt  away,  but  only  into  dew-drops  for  the  cups  of  joy- 
blossoms,  into  blood-drops  for  loving  hearts  ;  his  soul  was 
floating,  palpitating,  drinking,  and  swimming  in  the  warm, 
relaxing  rose-perfume  of  the  brightest  delusion   .... 

The  rapture  bridled  his  feverish  heart ;  and  his  mad  pulse 
grew  calm.  Next  morning  his  mother,  when  she  saw  that 
all  was  prospering,  would  have  had  the  church-bells  rung, 
to  make  him  think  that  the  second  Sunday  was  already  here. 
But  his  wife  (perhaps  out  of  shame  in  my  presence)  was 
averse  to  the  lying  ;  and  said  it  would  be  all  the  same  if 
we  moved  the  month-hand  of  his  clock  (but  otherwise  than 
Hezekiah's  Dial)  eight  days  forward  ;  especially  as  he  was 
wont  rather  to  rise  and  look  at  his  clock  for  the  day  of  the 
month,  then  to  turn  it  up  in  the  Almanac.  I  for  my 
own  part  simply  went  up  to  the  bedside,  and  asked  him  : 
"  If  he  was  cracked  —  what  in  the  world  he  meant  with  his 
mad  death-dreams,  when  he  had  lain  so  long,  and  passed 
clean  over  the  Cantata-Sunday,  and  yet,  out  of  sheer  terror, 
was  withering  to  a  lath  ?  " 

A  glorious  reinforcement  joined  me;  the  Flesher  or 
Quartermaster.  In  his  anxiety,  he  rushed  into  the  room, 
without  saluting  the  women,  and  I  forthwith  addressed  him 
aloud  :  M  My  gossip  here  is  giving  me  trouble  enough,  Mr. 
Regiments-Quartermaster;  last  night,  he  let  them  persuade 
him  he  was  little  older  than  his  own  son  ;  here  is  the  child's 
fall-hat  he  was  for  putting  on."  The  Guardian  deuced 
and  devilled,  and  said  :  "  Ward,  are  you  a  parson  or  a  fool  ? 


360  RICHTER. 

—  Have  not  I  told  you  twenty  times,  there  was  a  maggot  in 
your  head  about  this  ?  "  — 

At  last  he  himself  perceived  that  he  was  not  rightly  wise, 
and  so  grew  better  ;  besides  the  guardian's  invectives,  my 
oaths  contributed  a  good  deal  ;  for  I  swore  I  would  hold 
him  as  no  right  gossip,  and  edit  no  word  of  his  Biography, 
unless  he  rose  directly  and  got  better 

—  In  short,  he  showed  so  much  politeness  to  me  that  he 
rose  and  got  better.  —  He  was  still  sickly,  it  is  true,  on  Sat- 
urday ;  and  on  Sunday  could  not  preach  a  sermon  (some- 
thing of  the  sort  the  Schoolmaster  read,  instead)  ;  but  yet 
he  took  Confessions  on  Saturday,  and  at  the  altar  next  day 
he  dispensed  the  Sacrament.  Service  ended,  the  feast  of 
his  recovery  was  celebrated,  my  farewell-feast  included  ;  for 
I  was  to  go  in  the  afternoon. 

This  last  afternoon  I  will  chalk  out'  with  all  possible 
breadth,  and  then,  with  the  pentagraph  of  free  garrulity,  fill 
up  the  outline  and  draw  on  the  great  scale. 

During  the  Thanksgiving-repast,  there  arrived  consid- 
erable personal  tribute  from  his  catechumens,  and  fairings 
by  way  of  bonfire  for  his  recovery  ;  proving  how  much  the 
people  loved  him,  and  how  well  he  deserved  it;  for  one  is 
oftener  hated  without  reason  by  the  many,  than  without 
reason  loved  by  them.  But  Fixlein  was  friendly  to  every 
child  ;  was  none  of  those  clergy  who  nevev  pardon  their 
enemies  except  in  —  God's  stead  ;  and  he  praised  at  once 
the  whole  world,  his  wife,  and  himself. 

I  then  attended  at  his  afternoon's  catechizing  ;  and  looked 
down  (as  he  did  in  the  first  Letter-Box)  from  the  choir, 
under  the  wing  of  the  wooden  cherub.  Behind  this  angel, 
I  drew  out  my  note-book,  and  shifted  a  little  under  the  cover 
of   the   Black   Board,   with   its    white   Psalm-cyphers,*   and 

*  Indicating  to  the  congregation  what  Psalm   is  to  be  sung.  —  Ed. 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  361 

wrote  down  what  I  was  there  —  thinking.  I  was  well  aware, 
that  when  I  to-day,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  retired  from 
this  Salemic*  spinning-school,  where  one  is  taught  to  spin 
out  the  thread  of  life,  in  fairer  wise,  and  without  wetting  it 
by  foreign  mixtures,  —  I  was  well  aware,  I  say,  that  I 
should  carry  off  with  me  far  more  elementary  principles  of 
the  Science  of  Happiness  than  the  whole  Chamberlain 
piquet  ever  muster  all  their  days.  I  noted  down  my  first 
impression,  in  the  following  Rules  of  Life  for  myself  and 
the  press. 

"  Little  joys  refresh  us  constantly  like  house-bread,  and 
never  bring  disgust;  and  great  ones,  like  sugar-bread,  brief- 
ly, and  then  bring  it.  — Trifles  we  should  let,  not  plague  us 
only,  but  also  gratify  us  ;  we  should  seize  not  their  poison- 
bags  only,  but  their  honey-bags  also  ;  and  if  flies  often  buzz 
about  our  room,  we  should,  like  Domitian,  amuse  ourselves 
with  flies,  or,  like  a  certain  still  living   Elector,!  feed  them. 

—  For  civic  life  and  its  micrologies,  for  which  the  Parson 
has  a  natural  taste,  we  must  acquire  an  artificial  one  ;  must 
learn  to  love  without  esteeming  it ;  learn,  far  as  it  ranks 
beneath  human  life,  to  enjoy  it  like  another  twig  of  this 
human  life,  as  poetically  as  we  do  the  pictures  of  it  in  ro- 
mances. The  loftiest  mortal  loves  and  seeks  the  same  sort 
of  things  with  the  meanest ;  only  from  higher  grounds  and 
by  higher  paths.     Be  every  minute,  Man,  a  full  life  to  thee ! 

—  Despise  anxiety  and  wishing,  the   Future   and   the  Past  ! 

—  If  the  Second-pointer  can  be  no  road-pointer  into  an  Eden 
for  thy  soul,  the  Month-pointer  will  still  less  be  so,  for  thou 


*  Salerno  was  once  famous  for  its  medical  science  ;  but  here,  as 
in  many  other  cases,  we  could  desire  the  aid  of  Herr  Reinhold  with 
his  Lexicon- Commentary.  —  Ed. 

t  This  hospitable  Potentate  is  as  unknown  to  me  as  to  any  of  my 
readers.  —  Ed. 

VOL.  II.  31 


362  RICHTER. 

livest  not  from  month  to  month,  but  from  second  to  second  ! 
Enjoy  thy  Existence  more  than  thy  Manner  of  Existence, 
and  let  the  dearest  object  of  thy  Consciousness  be  this  Con- 
sciousness itself ! —  Make  not  the  Present  a  means  of  thy 
Future ;  for  this  Future  is  nothing  but  a  coming  Present ; 
and  the  Present,  which  thou  despisest,  was  once  a  Future 
which  thou  desiredst !  —  Stake  in  no  lotteries, —  keep  at 
home,  —  give  and  accept  no  pompous  entertainments, — 
travel  not  abroad  every  year  !  —  Conceal  not  from  thyself, 
by  long  plans,  thy  household  goods,  thy  chamber,  thy  acquain- 
tance !  —  Despise  Life,  that  thou  mayst  enjoy  it !  — Inspect 
the  neighborhood  of  thy  life  ;  every  shelf,  every  nook  of  thy 
abode ;  and  nestling  in,  quarter  thyself  in  the  farthest  and 
most  domestic  winding  of  thy  snail-house! — Look  upon  a 
capital  but  as  a  collection  of  villages,  a  village  as  some 
blind-alley  of  a  capital ;  fame  as  the  talk  of  neighbors  at 
the  street-door  ;  a  library  as  a  learned  conversation,  joy  as 
a  second,  sorrow  as  a  minute,  life  as  a  day ;  and  three 
things  as  all  in  all;  God,  Creation,  Virtue  !  " 

And  if  I  would  follow  myself  and  these  rules,  it  will 
behove  me  not  to  make  so  much  of  this  Biography  ;  but 
once  for  all,  like  a  moderate  man,  to  let  it  sound  out. 

After  the  Catechizing,  I  stept  down  to  my  wide-gowned 
and  black-gowned  gossip.  The  congregation  gone,  we 
clambered  up  to  all  high  places,  perused  the  plates  on  the 
pews  —  1  took  a  lesson  on  the  altar  on  its  inscription  in- 
crusted  with  the  sediment  of  Time  (I  speak  not  metaphor- 
ically) ;  I  organed,  my  gossip  managing  the  bellows  ;  I 
mounted  the  pulpit,  and  was  happy  enough  there  to  alight 
on  one  other  rose-shoot,  which,  in  the  farewell  minute,  I 
could  still  plant  in  the  rose-garden  of  my  Fixlein.  For  I 
descried  aloft,  on  the  back  of  a  wooden  Apostle,  the  name 
Lavater,  which  the  Zurich  Physiognomist  had  been  pleased 
to  leave  on  this  sacred  Torso  in  the  course  of  his  wayfaring. 


LIFE    OF     QUINTUS    FIXLEIN.  363 

Fixlein  did  not  know  the  hand,  but  I  did,  for  I  had  seen  it 
frequently  in  Flachsenfingen,  not  only  on  the  tapestry  of  a 
Court  Lady  there,  but  also  in  his  Hand-Library  ;  *  and  met 
with  it  besides  in  many  country  churches,  forming,  as  it 
were,  the  Directory  and  Address-Calendar  of  this  wandering 
name,  for  Lavater  likes  to  inscribe  in  pulpits,  as  a  shepherd 
does  in  trees,  the  name  of  his  beloved.  I  could  now  advise 
my  gossip  prudently  to  cut  away  the  name,  with  the  chip  of 
wood  containing  it,  from  the  back  of  the  Apostle,  and  to 
preserve  it  carefully  among  his  curiosa. 

On  returning  to  the  parsonage,  I  made  for  my  hat  and 
stick;  but  the  design,  as  it  were  the  projection  and  contour 
of  a  supper  in  the  acacia-grove,  had  already  been  sketched 
by  Thiennette.  I  declared  that  I  would  stay  till  evening,  in 
case  the  young  mother  went  out  with  us  to  the  proposed 
meal  ....  and  truly  the  Biographer  at  length  got  his  way, 
all  doctors'  regulations  notwithstanding. 

I  then  constrained  the  Parson  to  put  on  his  Krautermutze,t 
or  Herb-cap,  which  he  had  stitched  together  out  of  simples 
for  the  strengthening  of  his  memory  :  "  Would  to  Heaven," 
said  I,  "  that  Princes  instead  of  their  Princely  Hats,  Doc- 
tors and  Cardinals  instead  of  theirs,  and  Saints 
instead  of  martyr-crowns,  would  clap  such  memory- 
bonnets  on  their  heads!"  —  Thereupon,  till  the  roast- 
ing and  cooking  within  doors  were  over,  we  march- 
ed out  alone  over  the  parsonage  meadows,  and  talked  of 

*  A  little  work  printed  in  manuscript  types  ;  and  seldom  given 
by  him  to  any  but  Princes.  This  piece  of  print-writing  he  inten- 
tionally passes  off  to  the  great  as  a  piece  of  band-writing ;  these 
persons  being  both  more  habituated  and  inclined  to  the  reading  of 
manuscript  than  of  print. 

t  Thus  defined  by  Adelung  in  his  Lexicon :  "  Krmitermiitze,  in 
Medicine,  a  cap  with  various  dried  herbs  sewed  into  it,  and  which 
is  worn  for  all  manner  of  troubles  in  the  head."  —  Ed. 


364  RICHTER. 

learned  matters,  we  packed  ourselves  into  the  ruined  Rob- 
ber-Castle, on  which  my  gossip,  as  already  mentioned,  has 
a  literary  work  in  hand.  I  deeply  approved,  the  rather  as 
this  Kidnapper-tower  had  once  belonged  to  an  Aufhammer, 
his  intention  of  dedicating  the  description  to  the  Rittmeister ; 
that  nobleman,  I  think,  will  sooner  give  his  name  to  the 
Book  than  to  the  Shock.  For  the  rest,  I  exhorted  my  fel- 
low-craftsman to  pluck  up  literary  heart,  and  said  to  him  : 
"  A  fearless  pen,  good  gossip  !  Let  Subrector  Hans  von 
Fuchslein  be,  if  he  like,  the  Dragon  of  the  Apocalypse,  lying 
in  wait  for  the  delivery  of  the  fugitive  Woman,  to  swallow 
the  offspring ;  I  am  there  too,  and  have  my  friend  the  Ed- 
itor of  the  Litter  aturzeitung  at  my  side,  who  will  gladly 
permit  me  to  give  an  anticritique,  on  paying  the  insertion- 
dues  !  "  —  I  especially  excited  him  to  new  fillings  and  re- 
turn-freights of  his  Letter-Boxes.  I  have  not  taken  oath 
that  into  this  biographical  chest-of-drawers  I  will  not  in  the 
course  of  time  introduce  another  Box.  "  Neither  to  my 
godson,  worthy  gossip,  will  it  do  any  harm  that  he  is  pre- 
sented, poor  child,  even  now  to  the  reading  public,  when  he 
does  not  count  more  months  than,  as  Horace  will  have  it,  a 
literary  child  should  count  years,  namely,  nine" 

In  walking  homewards,  I  praised  his  wife.  "  If  mar- 
riage," said  I  to  him,  "  is  the  madder,  which  in  maids,  as  in 
cotton,  makes  the  colors  visible,  then  I  contend,  that  Thien- 
nette,  when  a  maid,  could  scarcely  be  so  good  as  she  is  now 
when  a  wife.  By  Heaven  !  in  such  a  marriage,  I  should 
write  Books  of  quite  another  sort,  divine  ones  ;  in  a  mar- 
riage, I  mean,  where  beside  the  writing-table  (as  beside  the 
great  voting-table  at  the  Regensburg  Diets,  there  are  little 
tables  of  confectionary) ;  where  in  like  manner,  I  say,  a 
little  jar  of  marmalade  were  standing  by  me,  namely,  a 
sweetened,  dainty,  lovely  face,  and  out  of  measure  fond  of 
the  Letter-Box-writer,   gossip !    Your   marriage  will  resem- 


LIFE    OF    QTJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  365 

ble  the  Acacia-grove  we  are  now  going  to,  the  leaves  of 
which  grow  thicker  with  the  heat  of  summer,  while  other 
shrubs  are  yielding  only  shrunk  and  porous  shade." 

As  we  entered  through  the  upper  garden-door  into  this 
same  bower,  the  supper  and  the  good  mistress  were  already 
there.  Nothing  is  more  pure  and  tender  than  the  respect 
with  which  a  wife  treats  the  benefactor  or  comrade  of  her 
husband  ;  and  happily  the  Biographer  himself  was  this  com- 
rade, and  the  object  of  this  respect.  Our  talk  was  cheerful, 
but  my  spirit  was  oppressed.  The  fetters,  which  bind  the 
mere  reader  to  my  heroes,  were  in  my  case  of  triple  force ; 
as  I  was  at  once  their  guest  and  their  portrait-painter. 
I  told  the  Parson  that  he  would  live  to  a  greater  age  than  I, 
for  that  his  temperate  temperament  was  balanced,  as  if  by  a 
doctor,  so  equally  between  the  nervousness  of  refinement  and 
the  hot  thick-bloodedness  of  the  rustic.  Fixlein  said  that 
if  he  lived  but  as  long  as  he  had  done,  namely,  two-and 
thirty  years,  it  would  amount,  exclusive  of  the  leap-year- 
days,  to  280,320  seconds,  which  in  itself  was  something 
considerable ;  and  that  he  often  reckoned  up  with  satisfac- 
tion the  many  thousand  persons  of  his  own  age  that  would 
have  a  life  equally  long. 

At  last  I  tried  to  get  in  motion  ;  for  the  red  lights  of  the 
falling  sun  were  mounting  up  over  the  grove,  and  dipping 
us  still  deeper  in  the  shadows  of  night ;  the  young  mother 
had  grown  chill  in  the  evening  dew.  In  confused  mood,  I 
invited  the  Parson  to  visit  me  soon  in  the  city,  where  I 
would  show  him  not  only  all  the  chambers  of  the  Palace, 
but  the  Prince  himself.  Gladder  there  was  nothing  this 
day  on  our  old  world  than  the  face  to  which  I  said  so  ;  and 
than  the  other  one  which  was  the  mild  reflexion  of  the 
former.  — For  the  Biographer  it  would  have  been  too  hard, 
if  now  in  that  minute,  when  his  fancy,  like  mirror-telescopes, 
was  representing  every  object  in  a  tremulous  form,  he  had 
1  31* 


366 


RICHTER. 


been  obliged  to  cut  and  run  ;  if,  I  will  say,  it  had  not 
occurred  to  him  that  to  the  young  mother  it  could  do  little 
harm  (but  much  good)  were  she  to  take  a  short  walk,  and 
assist  in  escorting  the  Author  and  architect  of  the  present 
Letter-Box  out  of  the  garden  to  his  road. 

In  short,  I  took  this  couple  one  in  each  hand,  instead  of 
under  each  arm,  and  moved  with  them  through  the  garden 
to  the  Flachsenfingen  highway.  I  often  abruptly  turned 
round  my  head  between  them,  as  if  I  had  heard  some  one 
coming  after  us  ;  but  in  reality  I  only  meant  once  more, 
though  mournfully,  to  look  back  into  the  happy  hamlet, 
whose  houses  were  all  dwellings  of  contented  still  Sabbath- 
joy,  and  which  is  happy  enough,  though  ;^over  its  wide- 
parted  pavement-stones  there  passes  every  week  but  one 
barber,  every  holiday  but  one  dresser  of  hair,  and  every 
year  but  one  hawker  of  parasols.  Then  truly  I  had  again 
to  turn  round  my  head,  and  look  at  the  happy  pair  beside 
me.  My  otherwise  affectionate  gossip  could  not  rightly 
suit  himself  to  these  tokens  of  sorrow  ;  but  in  thy  heart, 
thou  good,  so  oft  afflicted  sex,  every  mourning-bell  soon 
finds  its  unison  ;  and  Thiennette,  ennobled  with  the  thin 
trembling    resonance  of    a    reverberating    soul,    gave    me 

back  all  my  tones   with   the  beauties  of  an  echo. At 

last  we  reached  the  boundary,  over  which  Thiennette  could 
not  be  allowed  to  walk  ;  and  now  must  I  part  from  my 
gossip,  with  whom  I  had  talked  so  gaily  every  morning 
(each  of  us  from  his  bed),  and  from  the  still  circuit  of 
modest  hope  where  he  dwelt,  and  return  once  more  to  the 
rioting,  fermenting  Court-sphere,  where  men  in  bull-beggar 
tone  demand  from  Fate  a  root  of  Life-Licorice,  thick  as 
the  arm,  like  the  botanical  one  on  the  Wolga,  not  so  much 
that  they  may  chew  the  sweet  beam  themselves,  as  fell 
others  to  earth  with  it. 

As  I  thought  to   myself  that  I  would   say,  Farewell !  to 


LIFE    OF     QJJINTUS    FIXLEIN.  367 

them,  all  the  coming  plagues,  all  the  corpses,  and  all  the 
marred  wishes  of  this  good  pair,  arose  before  my  heart ; 
and  I  remembered  that  Httle,  save  the  falling  asleep  of 
joy-flowers,  would  mark  the  current  of  their  Life-clay,  as  it 
does  of  mine  and  of  every  one's.  —  And  yet  is  it  fairer,  if 
they  measure  their  years  not  by  the  Water-clock  of  falling 
tears,  but  by  the  Flower-clock*'  of  asleep-going  flowers, 
whose  bells  in  our  short-lived  garden  are  sinking  together 
before  us  from  hour  to  hour.  — 

I  would  even  now  —  for  I  still  recollect  how  I  hung  with 
streaming  eyes  over  these  two  loved  ones,  as  over  their 
corpses  —  address  myself,  and  say  :  Far  too  soft,  Jean  Paid, 
whose  chalk  still  sketches  the  models  of  Nature  on  a  ground 
of  Melancholy  ;  harden  thy  heart  like  thy  frame,  and  waste 
not  thyself  and  others  by  such  thoughts.  Yet  why  should 
I  do  it,  why  should  I  not  confess  directly  what,  in  the  softest 
emotion,  I  said  to  these  two  beings  ?  "  May  all  go  right 
with  you,  ye  mild  beings,"  I  said,  for  I  no  longer  thought 
of  courtesies,  "  may  the  arm  of  Providence  bear  gently  your 
lacerated  hearts,  and  the  good  Father,  above  all  these  suns 
which  are  now  looking  down  on  us,  keep  you  ever  united, 
and  exalt  you  still  undivided  to  his  bosom  and  his  lips !  " — 
"Be  you,  too,  right  happy  and  glad  !"  said  Thiennette. — 
"And  to  you,  Thiennette,"  continued  I,  "Ah  !  to  your  pale 
cheeks,  to  your  oppressed  heart,  to  your  long  cold  mal- 
treated youth,  I  can  never,  never  wish  enough.  No!  But 
all  that  can  soothe  a  wounded  soul,  that  can  please  a  pure 
one,  that  can  still  the  hidden  sigh  —  O  all  that  you  deserve 
—  may  this  be  given  you  ;  and  when  you  see  me  again, 
then  say  to  me,  i  I  am  now  much  happier ! '  " 

We  were  all  of  us   too   deeply  moved.     We  at  last  tore 

*  Linn6  formed  in  Upsal  a  flower-clock,  the  flowers  of  which,  by 
their  different  times  of  falling  asleep,  indicated  the  hours  of  the  day. 


368  RICHTER. 

ourselves  asunder  from  repeated  embraces  ;  my  friend  re 
tired  with  the  soul  whom  he  loves — I  remained  alone 
behind  him  with  the  Night. 

And  I  walked  without  aim  through  woods,  through  val- 
leys, and  over  brooks,  and  through  sleeping  villages,  to 
enjoy  the  great  Night  like  a  Day.  I  walked,  and  still 
looked  like  the  magnet  to  the  region  of  midnight,  to 
strengthen  my  heart  at  the  gleaming  twilight,  at  this  up- 
stretching  Aurora  of  a  morning  beneath  our  feet.  White 
night-butterflies  flitted,  white  blossoms  fluttered,  white  stars 
fell,  and  the  white  snow-powder  hung  silvery  in  the  high 
Shadow  of  the  Earth,  which  reaches  beyond  the  Moon,  and 
which  is  our  Night.  Then  began  the  Eolian  Harp  of  the 
Creation  to  tremble  and  to  sound,  blown  on  from  above, 
and  my  immortal  soul  was  a  string  in  this  Harp.  —  The 
heart  of  a  brother  everlasting  Man  swelled  under  the  ever- 
lasting Heaven,  as  the  seas  swell  under  the  Sun  and  under 
the  Moon.  —  The  distant  village-clocks  struck  midnight, 
mingling,  as  it  were,  with  the  ever-pealing  tone  of  ancient 
Eternity.  —  The  limbs  of  my  buried  ones  touched  cold  on 
my  soul,  and  drove  away  its  blots,  as  dead  hands  heal 
eruptions  of  the  skin.  —  I  walked  silently  through  little 
hamlets,  and  close  by  their  outer  churchyards,  where  crum- 
bled upcast  coffin-boards  were  glimmering,  while  the  once 
bright  eyes  that  had  lain  in  them  were  mouldered  into  grey 
ashes.  —  Cold  thought !  clutch  not  like  a  cold  spectre  at  my 
heart ;  I  look  up  to  the  starry  sky,  and  an  everlasting  chain 
stretches  thither,  and  over  and  below  ;  and  all  is  Life,  and 
Warmth,  and  Light,  and  all  is  godlike  or  God 

Towards  morning  I  descried  thy  late  lights,  little  city  of 
my  dwelling,  which  I  belong  to  on  this  side  the  grave ;  I 
returned  to  the  Earth  ;  and  in  thy  steeples,  behind  the  by- 
advanced  great  Midnight,  it  struck  half  past  two;  about  this 
hour,  in  1794,  Mars   went  down  in  the  west,  and  the  Moon 


LIFE    OF    Q,UINTUS    FIXLEIN.  369 

rose  in  the  east ;  and  my  soul  desired,  in  grief  for  the  noble 
warlike  blood  which  is  still  streaming  on  the  blossoms  of 
Spring  :  "Ah  retire,  bloody  War,  like  red  Mars  ;  and  thou, 
still  Peace,  come  forth  like  the  mild  divided  Moon !  "  — 


END    OF    VOLUME    SECOND. 


